Teana's Travels Book 5: Magistra
by D.K.N
Summary: Following another vision, Gamma Team gets acquainted with Negi Springfield and his team. Surprising truths, epic battles, harbingers of doom, and harem antics combine to make this next part of Lanstar's journey. Rated M for violence, language, and ecchi.
1. Mahora

And here we go with Book 5. Here's where Gamma Team has a bit more impact, levels up some more, gains some shiny new abilities, and (later on, late in the Magical World Arc) encounters a harbinger of future trouble…

And yes, in this alt-verse the events of _Negima _take place in 2011, not 2004 (basically, take all the events and backstory info – _all _of it – and push it forward seven years)

Random info: I imagine the _Negima _folks speaking English, but with their Japanese voices (Rina Sato as Negi, Yu Kobayashi as Setsuna, Mamiko Noto as Nodoka, etc).

Also, in my fics: ki/qi, chi, and chakra are all the same thing with different names.

**-**_**DISCLAIMERS**_**-**

_Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha _(Teana, concept of Intelligent Devices, some magic) – 7Arcs

_Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni _(Shion) – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen

_Shuffle! _(Kaede Fuyō) – Navel and Asread

_Erika's New Perfume _(Marie) – Deviant-Art artist Lance the Young

_Mai-chan's Daily Life _(Mai) – Waita Uziga

_Star Wars _(Ahsoka, Cody, Rex) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm

_Halo _(Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie and 343 Industries

_StarCraft _(multiple mentions of characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment

_Naruto _(jutsu, abilities)– Masashi Kishimoto

_Mahō Sensei Negima _– Ken Akamatsu

A Day Indoors (fanfic found on this site) (Sebastian von Klaus) – Ambrant Arandel (with his permission)

_Kingdom Hearts _(boss battle music) – Disney and Square-Enix

**-**_**BOOK 5 START**_**-**

**Mahora Academy**

**May 10****th**** 2011**

The group – Gamma Team (Ahsoka in a brown hooded cloak), Col. Holland, Ship-Master Zhal Arum (clad in a curtain-made-cloak), and Erohn Kilkar (active camouflage) - walked through the academy, past various students and other people, as a quartet of local mages escorted them to the Headmaster's Office. The _Starshot_ currently hovered about 100 meters off the ground behind the mountains that bordered the city-sized academy's neighboring small forest, hidden by a Protoss-made cloaking device.

Teana didn't really know what to think. On one hand, visions foretold that their time in this realm would have more happen than any of the previous ones, they would make powerful new allies, and "truths" would come to light. The people seemed friendly enough – very professional. On the other hand… they were mages. Not just using magic-summoned projectile or directed-energy stuff like her and Marie, but actually using magic and spells. She _sincerely _doubted they could actually be of any help, excepting the slight possibility of them possessing lethal magic – which Teana's experiences on Midchilda had led her to deem an oxymoron.

Teana couldn't usemagic thanks to her self-placed Seal, but she most definitely could still sense it. And this academy was _glowing _with it. It seemed to permeate everything at nigh-incredibly high levels, the local average magic "density" exceeding even that of the planet Midchilda, and that titanic tree in the center of the campus/city was infused with so much magic it was almost unbelievable. What's more, according to scans the majority of people here had no magical skill, and many of them barely ranked a C- on the potential power scale… and according to their escorts, most of these "mundanes" did not know of magic; the mages of this campus kept magic's existence hidden from the outside world, as did the other mages operating on this Earth.

And if the case files regarding Takamachi-teme and Hayate-san were any indication, in a realm where mages are few and far between, the mages that _do _show up tend to be ridiculously powerful. Already she could faintly sense a few on the campus that were at least AAA in power.

They soon arrived at the office, being allowed in. They noticed the several figures already in the room. There was the Headmaster himself, an old man with an odd-shaped head seated at the desk, calmly appraising the new arrivals. There was a man who looked to be in his mid- or late-30s, tall and a little thin, with a fancy suit, short spiked hair, glasses, and some light stubble. There was a woman who looked to be in her late 20s, with glasses, long auburn hair, and… 'jeebus, look at those things! They're bigger than Fate's or Signum's!'

There was another old man, clad in an old dark-blue suit, his full head of short silver-gray hair sitting just above eyes that showed considerable wisdom, his hands resting atop a wooden staff-like cane. There was a young boy, around 10 years old with deep-red hair, who the very sight of made something seem to stir within the six girls' hearts, for some inexplicable reason. There was a young girl, around 14 or 15, with long brown hair and who seemed to have an aura of peace and cheer to her. There was a thin girl around the same age next to her, her black hair held in a wing-shaped side ponytail, a sheathed sword at her side. And there was a white… ferret? No; an ermine, who seemed to have a magical energy signature. A familiar, perhaps?

"Welcome to our world, travelers" Headmaster Konoemon said. "I trust you do not come here to cause trouble?"

"Of course" the uniformed man of the arrivals said. "I am Colonel Urban Holland, officer in the UNSC Army, superior officer of Gamma Team," he gestured to the six girls, "and the UNSC's unofficial ambassador to any new realms we come to, including this one."

"And I," the sheet-clad Sangheili began, shedding his impromptu cloak and revealing his resplendent white armor and non-human-ness to all, "am Zhal Arum, ship-master of the _Starshot _and representative of the Sangheili Alliance. The figure next to me," the other Sangheili un-cloaked, "is my guard and friend, Erohn Kilkar of the Alliance Special-Operations Division."

"I am Teana Uchiha-Lanstar, Warrant Officer Grade 5 of the UNSC, _Tokubetsu Jōnin _of the Leaf Village, sniper and swordsmanship specialist, and leader of Gamma Team."

"I am Shion of the Voidwalkers, Warrant Officer Grade 4 of the UNSC, _Tokubetsu Jōnin _of the Leaf Village, wielder of the Void, and Gamma-2 – Teana-san's second-in-command."

"I am Kaede Fuyō, Warrant Officer Grade 3 of the UNSC, _Chūnin _of the Leaf Village, marksman – markswoman, rather - of Gamma Team, Gamma-3."

"I'm Marie Swanson, Warrant Officer Grade 3 of the UNSC, _Chūnin _of the Leaf Village, and demolitions and explosives expert of Gamma Team, Gamma-4."

"I am Mai Kitagawa, Warrant Officer Grade 3 of the UNSC, _Chūnin _of the Leaf Village, and combat medic of Gamma Team, Gamma-5."

"I'm Ahsoka Tano, Warrant Officer Grade 3 of the UNSC, _Chūnin _of the Leaf Village, and the _other _swordsmanship specialist of Gamma Team, Gamma-6."

That last one caught some of the locals by surprise, especially when she removed her hood. "Let me guess" she said upon noticing them staring. "In this universe, just like in Teana's, Shion's, Kaede's, and Marie & Mai's, the various happenings in my universe are a work of fiction they call 'Star Wars', right?"

They all nodded. "Figures…" the Togrutan said. "How far along is the one with me in it?"

"Uh…" the cute little red-headed boy said. "Season 3 finished a bit ago. The incident on Mortis was part of that season."

"Ah, yes" Ahsoka said. "Not one of our more fun missions – very creepy place. Though my memory is… oddly fuzzy of a part toward the end, and whenever I asked Sky-Guy about it he got all shifty and changed the subject. So… you guys' turn for introductions, right?"

"Quite" the Headmaster replied. "I am Konoemon Konoe, Headmaster of Mahora Academy."

"My name is Takamichi Takahata."

"I am Shizuna Minamoto, head nurse of the academy and the Headmaster's & Negi-kun's aide."

"Greetings. My name is Sebastian von Klaus, dean of engineering and… security correspondent."

"By security, you mean wards and barriers?" Teana asked.

Klaus smiled. "So you _are _familiar with magic. I had a feeling..."

"I'm Negi Springfield, teacher of Class 3-A and mage-in-training."

"In training?" Marie said. "From what I can sense, you're way too strong to be a student."

"Well, I'm not _officially _a student in magic anymore, since I graduated from the academy I attended, but I'm always training to improve – to catch up to my top-class father."

Teana gave a dismissive scoff.

"I'm Konoka Konoe, one of Negi-kun's _Ministra _and his best medic mage! Well, actually I'm his _only _medic mage right now, but…"

"…_Ministra_?"

"We will explain shortly."

"I am Setsuna Sakurazaki. I am Ojō-sama's-"

"Secchan…"

"…Konoka-san's bodyguard, and another of Negi-sensei's _Ministra_. I'm a swordswoman of the _Shinmei-ryū_."

"_Ojō-sama_?"

"Konoka-san's family is descended from the Fujiwara Clan" Negi explained. Shion, Kaede, and Mai widened eyes in surprise. It took Shion all she had not to kneel before Konoka – the Sonozaki Clan had, in olden days, been protectors of her Earth's Fujiwara Clan.

"So… if you could explain a little more about your previous endeavors and how they may connect with our world?" Konoemon asked, using magic to summon a series of comfy chairs for each of them, which they all graciously took seats in.

Over the next 40 or so minutes, Holland, Teana, and Arum gave a condensed explanation of their previous endeavors, finishing with the recent vision of the future foretelling a horrible battle on Mundus Magicus that will spill over onto this Earth.

"You _magic-users_," Teana had audible disgust in that part of her words, "will need our help – to take out whatever shows up and to help minimize casualties."

Negi was confused upon hearing the vitriol in the red-orange-haired girl's tone, but Konoemon beat him to it.

"I have noticed a form of magic flowing through the bodies of you and Ms. Swanson, Teana-san, as well as those of your currently-inactive weapons" the old man said. "Oddly, there is none in _yours_, barring your muscles. It feels different from our own system of magic. It also feels familiar to me. …You see, we have not yet achieved true, 100% fusion of magic and technology, but we are well on the way. I have lived quite a long time, and one of the few spells I have personally developed is an undetectable, trans-dimensional scrying technique."

"And this is leading where?"

"I recognize those weapons you two carry as Intelligent Devices. I have known of Midchilda and their system of magic for about 24 years now."

You could've heard a pin drop in the office.

"Of course, though I have knowledge of the Time-Space Administration Bureau and their mission of ensuring the stability of space-time, and of their system of magic and much of its workings and principles, my knowledge is not complete; I can see the forest, but not the trees, so to speak. I have little knowledge of the finer points of their government, and know nothing of the "Four Legendary Aces" other than second-hand reports that the living-artillery White Ace, the lightning-fast Golden Ace, and the tactical-warhead Black-Feather Ace are 19-year-old young women of considerable power, and the Flame Ace is a supposedly-21 fire-wielding master swordswoman-mage, while my knowledge of other important figures is more or less nonexistent. And yet, Ms. Lanstar, I sense something odd in you; where there should be at least a small amount of magic – the amount nearly every person has – I sense a void; nothing, where there used to be something. Tell me… why is this? Where has your magic gone?"

"…I got rid of it" Teana said quietly. "Because it was weak. Because it was worthless. Because my magical ability was pathetic, with channeling any magic causing much more strain than "normal" with much lower corresponding results. Because relying on magic kept me _weak_. Because my instructors _knew _this, but they kept pushing me to train in it just so they could laugh at me behind my back, keep me as a weak link, suppress my potential, keep me from redeeming my family's reputation, keep me as an example to others of weakness and the futility of trying to become strong without an innate gift of some sort! My experiences – my _life _– have led me to see just how weak and worthless magic really is! It can't even cause actual damage to someone; how can one fight for one's life if one can't even kill the person trying to kill them?~! So… to rid myself of that weakness, and start along the new road to my current strength of cybernetic enhancements and top-class weapons and _ninjutsu_, the power that my UNSC training and my enhancements and my chakra and my _kekkei genkai_ give me…"

She unbuttoned the first few buttons of her shirt, opening to reveal a now-visible small black seven-pointed star just below her neck, a series of thin chain-like marks on her wrists fading into visibility as well.

"I sealed my Linker Core."

Konoemon's, Klaus', Shizuna's, and Takahata's eyes widened in surprise, while Negi, Konoka, Setsuna, and Chamo gasped in horror-shock. After several seconds, Konoemon spoke.

"I think I know what your problem was" he said. "I can sense the truly extraordinary amount of chakra you possess, flowing in a controlled manner within you. You had this chakra within you this whole time, correct? Chakra and magic do not get along very well. Normally, this is not a problem; many ki-users are also adept mages, in particular a fellow by the name of Jack Rakan, whose skills with both magic and with chakra are equally – and ridiculously - high. But Midchildan magic's properties differ from Vetus magic's in several ways. The most noticeable is that it has more… hostility… to chakra. As you had those tremendous reserves of chakra all your life, but never learned how to tap into them or control them, the chakra in your body was untrained, untamed, and unfocused… enough to interfere with your body's ability to channel magic."

"…What?"

"That strain you mentioned having to go through whenever channeling magic – how you had to struggle more than others and still got lesser results – was because you had to actively fight to channel magic past all that wild chakra. Now that you have undergone extensive training with your chakra, magical energy should come several orders of magnitude easier for you, flowing smoothly through your body without the obstruction of disordered, uncontrolled chakra. By Midchilda's power scale, you could probably easily hit AAA, and possibly even S."

"…That… that still doesn't change the fact that magic can't actually hurt people! I'm a soldier now! I've fought in several wars since I left my homeworld!"

"Just because your homeworld's magic can't kill," von Klaus cut in, "doesn't mean that _no _magic can. Vetus magic can be… quite lethal. In most cases, Vetus relies upon elemental manipulation, but even blasts of pure magic can be fatal. I have seen people incinerated by fire spells, electrocuted by lightning spells, impaled by spears of magic ice, crushed by magic-crafted stone pillars, drowned by water magic, and obliterated by blasts, bolts, and waves of raw magical energy. I have seen people grant themselves incredible physical capabilities by channeling magic directly into their bodies, such that they can move at the speed of sound, shatter stone with a light punch, leave bullets bouncing off of flesh, keep going for _days _on end without tiring… or shatter an enemy's skull with a single blow, or – amongst more violent users – rip foes in two with bare hands. If you seek magic that can truly make a difference in war, the Vetus system is perfect for you."

"And no, using magic would _not _interfere with your ability to use chakra at all; see Mr. Rakan or Takahata-san or Setsuna-chan here for example." Konoemon cut in before Teana could speak. "Also, my dear, you are gravely mistaken in one thing. It seems that your instructors, for whatever reason, never showed you how to switch Midchildan magic from 'stun' to 'kill'."

"Okay, _now _you're just screwing with me!" Teana shouted, leaping to her feet. "I can accept that an entirely separate class of magic can be lethal, but _Midchildan_?~! That's a sick joke, man!"

Konoemon's response was to turn to Konoka, who responded to his telepathic command and called up her artifact. He then pointed a finger at Teana's left shoulder, and soon a tennis-ball-sized sphere of magic appeared at his finger, the energy of which was instantly recognizable as Midchildan shooting magic. He let it fly, and Teana did not move to avoid, expecting the familiar sting but nothing more.

So it was with great surprise that she cried out in as the minimum-power physical-damage-mode sphere impacted, leaving a nasty bruise and a bleeding tear in the skin. Another bolt grazed her arm, leaving a bleeding cut where it hit. Teana stared in dumbfounded shock as one of her strong-held beliefs was proven utterly false. Konoka promptly walked up and waved her healing-magic-hypercharged fan, and the injuries vanished. Konoemon then projected a scene from his scrying ball, showing Tiida Uchiha-Lanstar in his final battle years earlier, fighting three Paths of Pain. A Crossfire Shot barrage smashed into the previous Preta Path (the one he would later destroy with _Amaterasu _before Deva killed him, to be later replaced by the fat one that Naruto encountered), audibly breaking several bones, damaging flesh, and oh yeah _tearing its arm off_.

"So you see," he said, "it's likely not because they wished to keep you helpless that they did not teach you how to use physical-damage-mode magic; perhaps this Instructor Takamachi I gleamed from your surface thoughts is personally averse to killing? Or maybe they _were _going to teach you eventually, had you not left Midchilda when you did?"

"Also, Master," Cross Mirage suddenly spoke up, "I believe that the deception that Dr. Halsey and I agreed on due to your distrust of magic at the time should now be lifted. My blade is not high-energized particles; it is condensed, superheated physical-damage magical energy. Charon's energy bolts and blade are also physical-damage magic… enhanced by the Khaydarin and Jorium crystals inside Charon's structure, of course."

Teana was sent reeling. All those times… all those kills, with limbs and heads and bisected bodies split cleanly, their points of severing flash-cauterized like from a plasma sword as the mighty weapon ended their lives with effortless ease… that was _magic_? She fell back, her bottom sinking in slightly into the soft cushion of the chair as her entire weight came down all at once, like her legs had suddenly forgot how to work. Those who were paying attention saw as the black seal below her neck began to waver, and turned grey.

"Sebastian, if you would…"

Klaus nodded and raised his arm, pointing his palm with slightly curved fingers at Teana. He closed his eyes, focusing his energy, feeling the intricate seal and the Linker Core beneath. A Vetus magic circle formed in front of his palm, slowly spinning and glowing white.

"_Fūin, kai!_"

Teana startled as she felt the Seal on her chest and wrists "shatter", the fine fabric of magical energy dissipating into nothingness.

"Now…" Konoemon said. "Try channeling a little magic – say, the amount you would formerly have used to call up a C-rank attack."

It had been a long time, but Teana calmed herself and called up that little bit… and was thoroughly surprised as a _large _amount of magical power came through, a very bright Midchildan circle forming on the ground beneath her. What's more, unlike before, she felt no strain – absolutely none at all! Calling up this B+ amount of power wasn't any more effort than what it took to breathe or activate her basic Sharingan! She stood up, and put in the effort that forming a B- level spell used to take. Those few who were standing were knocked off their feet by the resulting rush of energy from Teana's body, easily AA+, probably AAA. As a test, she cut her magical output and called up an equal amount of chakra with only slightly less effort. She switched back and forth between magic and chakra a few times, calling up different amounts of power (nothing bigger than her AAA amount, though; she didn't want to level the office), and with each attempt she felt joy and elation slowly but unstoppably building in her heart.

"This… this is incredible!" she said. "There's so much, and it's so easy! I'm not having to strain or struggle at all!" A grin – not a sly or 'evil' one, but a genuine happy one – spread on her face. Konoemon, Klaus, and Takahata smiled as well.

'Her magical potential might even match Negi-kun's' Takahata thought. 'I can't believe her untrained chakra was holding back so much power…'

"Whoa, _sugoi!_" Konoka exclaimed.

"Not only magic, but so much chakra…" Setsuna said.

"This _ane-san_'s gifted!" Chamo shouted. "And her magic power ain't bad, either!"

Shizuna used two fingers to thump the perverted ermine-fey on the head.

After a considerably-better-mood Teana sat back down, the group got to continuing and finalizing discussions. It was settled that they could stay so long as they helped deal with any future threats, and that they were careful to keep on the down-low when around the mundanes. Furthermore, as the _Halo _series and _StarCraft_ existed in this world, any Sangheili Alliance personnel or Protoss would have to either remain active-camo'd when out & about or wear a custom-fit magical 'don't-notice-my-oddness' cloak; Ahsoka would also have to wear such a cloak, thought she wasn't _too _upset about it. The girls of Gamma would pose as new students in 3-A for now.

**-**_**CHAPTER 1 END**_**-**


	2. Training

Training commences

And to that guy who, in his reviews, keeps getting confused: 'MACH CALIBER' IS SUBARU'S ROLLERSKATE DEVICE. TEANA'S GUN/SWORD DEVICE IS NAMED 'CROSS MIRAGE'. GET IT RIGHT.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mahora Academy**

**May 11****th****, 2011**

"Girls, I'd like to introduce you to six new temporary additions to our class. They'll be staying with us for most of the rest of the school year. This is Teana, Shion, Kaede Fuyō, Marie, Mai, and…"

"Call me 'Aka'" ('red') the robed-and-hooded Ahsoka said.

Enthusiastic greetings were shouted out. As the six girls took their seats, Negi sat at his desk, preparing to go over his notes in the few minutes before class officially started.

'_Boya_'

'_Hm? Yes, master?_'

'_You can't fool me. I sense the magical power in the redhead and the American, and I can sense the fine-tuned chakra in all six of them. Is this connected to the huge flashes of chakra and magic that nearly every sensor in the Academy felt yesterday?_'

'_Every sensor? …Yeah, that was Teana-san. It's a long story. We were going to gather up the rest of everyone who's in the know in 3-A – and Kotarō-kun - and meet at your cabin to explain things._'

'_Why my cabin?_'

'_Well, do you have any better private place to discuss magical matters?_'

'…_No. …Alright, fine._'

'_Thank you, master_'

'_Hmph_'

The class was quick and mostly uneventful. After it ended, the girls of Gamma Team had to sit through some questioning from the class, excluding those who were telepathically notified by Negi to meet up with him and Gamma at Evangeline's cabin.

30 minutes later, the six of Gamma Team walked into Evangeline's not-so-humble abode, taking their seats. Around them stood or sat Negi, Evangeline, Konoka, Setsuna, Chachamaru, Asuna, Nodoka, Yue, Kaede Nagase, Kū Fei, Kazumi, Satomi, Chamo, Chachazero, and their newest member Kotarō, who'd joined the team in the wake of the Graf Hermann Incident two days ago. And the girls of Gamma began to talk.

And half an hour later, the people of Team Negi finally managed to pick their jaws up off the floor just as the sextet finished.

"So…" Shion said. "Can we join your little group, at least for now?"

Team Negi looked around at each other for several seconds, before within the space of a few seconds they all nodded.

"Follow us to my Resort" Evangeline said.

"Resort?"

A few minutes later, the girls of Gamma (and new recruit Kotarō) looked around in awe as they stood inside Evangeline's massive pocket-dimension "castle".

"And you know what's _really _cool about this place?" Negi said as he walked up to them. "For every 24 hours that pass in here, only _one _hour passes in the outside world. It's the perfect place to train!"

"…I'm in love with it already…" Kotarō said.

"So," Evangeline said as she and the rest of Team Negi walked up, "how about you girls give us some show & tell, and then we'll do the same."

The girls of Gamma started showing their abilities, both natural and what they'd picked up during their travels. First was Ahsoka, then Kaede, and then Marie. Evangeline showed poorly-concealed interest in Marie and Teana's descriptions of an entirely new system of magic. Some of Negi's girls showed poorly-concealed disturbance at Kaede Fuyō's bloodline ability (except Chachazero, who thought it was awesome). Mai chose to explain her powers but not her history; Evangeline was very surprised at someone whose regeneration abilities were better than hers. Shion showed off her Void abilities (to the great interest of Eva, Yue, and Kazumi, who played StarCraft… though only Evangeline ever did things other than the Campaign). When Shion described her _other _source of power, though, Evangeline got… twitchy.

"What's wrong, Master?"

"…No. Don't… don't worry, Shion. I'm not going to be bigoted and hold it against you. You're the thing's cage, not its manifestation. But… I know about the _Bijū_ – some of the most powerful and horrifying greater daemons in existence."

"Demons?" Kū Fei asked.

"No" Setsuna replied. "Daemons. Daemons are what demons quake in fear of. Demons aren't all bad, and some are borderline heroic. Daemons are, with the exception of the _Hachibi_, ruthless monsters that care for naught but death and destruction. Also, daemons completely outstrip demons in terms of power. There are four types of demons & daemons. Lesser demons are the type that Mana-san and I can mow down by the dozens for the weaker ones, and maybe the stronger lesser demons we can deal with without exhausting ourselves. Greater demons are bigger and stronger, but still nothing an S-rank or higher can't handle; that huge _kishin _that Amagasaki used _Ojō-sama _to summon back in Kyoto was a greater demon.

"Daemons are far different… and far worse. How many of you know of Warhammer 40,000? You know how the monsters of Chaos are called "daemons"? Most aren't really; they're far too weak. Most Chaos "daemons" are more along the lines of Mid- or Greater-Demons in power, and their "Daemon Princes" are at the absolute lowest end of Lesser Daemon power. Greater Daemons, also called Daemon Lords, are essentially gods in power. The four Chaos 'Gods' would be more accurately classed as true Greater Daemons. Trigon, in the DC comics, was a Greater Daemon, and even then he was a very weak one – barely on the cusp between Lesser and Greater in power. The higher-end Tailed Beasts have physical manifestations equal to Lesser Daemons in power, but their true strength easily puts them at Greater Daemon levels; the _Kyūbi no Yōko_'s true astral form's power is said to match the Chaos Gods', and its technically-much-weaker physical form can still flatten mountains and raise huge ocean waves with just a wave of a tail."

"Master once encountered a Greater Daemon's physical manifestation" Chachazero piped up. "Even though it was, like eight kilometers away, its mere presence had my SS-rank master pale and shaking and curled up in a whimpering ball like a little Chihuahua. And even then, the daemon's physical form had only one-sixth of its true, full power, and even that full power was, like, about half of a Chaos God's."

"…Damn."

"I know, right?"

"So… those monsters that attacked Negi-kun's village?"

"A horde of lesser demons led by a couple of greater demons. Graf Hermann was… _is_ a greater demon. A single lesser daemon could've probably flattened the entire village and killed everyone in it within several seconds. Nagi-san _probably _wouldhave been able to take on two or three lesser daemons and win, but he would've been completely exhausted and half-dead afterwards."

"…Okay, now that that's done… where were we?"

"I was just about to show them this_!_" Marie said. "Charon!"

"SET UP"

There was a flash of blue and violet light, and Marie was clad in her Barrier Jacket, her arm-cannon Device on her right arm. Some of the people of Team Negi 'oooh'ed and 'aaah'ed.

"This," Marie gestured to her outfit, "is called a Barrier Jacket. It's a key component of Midchildan- and Belkan-styles mages like the Boss and me. It's basically part combat uniform, part all-purpose defense. No matter what form a Barrier Jacket takes, all Jackets produce a constantly-active multi-type defensive field whenever active. That defensive field can absorb and disperse the energy of enemy attacks, acts as a g-force diffuser for sudden acceleration or deceleration – like rocketing out of the way of an attack or being kicked a hundred feet into a wall at very high speed -, and even has some life-support functions, like auto-CPR and stuff. And this big cannon here," she raised her arm, "is my Intelligent Device, Charon. In this form he shoots concentrated bolts of physical-damage magical energy, charged further by the Khaydarin and Jorium crystals I built into him during construction. He also has an energy-blade mode."

"…She looks like Beelzemon, only without the wings or tail or third eye" Kazumi said. Nodoka, Yue, Negi, and Kū Fei nodded.

"What's _your _Barrier Jacket like, Teana-san?" Kaede Nagase asked.

"I… haven't used it in a long time – since before I sealed my Linker Core when I left my homeworld. Plus… it bears too much resemblance to my treacherous teacher's for my taste."

"Then why don't you craft yourself a new one?" Shion suggested. "Aren't Barrier Jackets shaped by the user's will?"

"Yeah, but… what about my Mjolnir armor? Won't I lose it?"

"No you will not, Master" Cross Mirage stated. "In fact, you will be able to switch between the two whenever you please."

"…Alright…"

Teana closed her eyes, focusing her thoughts and her own self-image. She then held her card-form device aloft. "Mirage!"

"Barrier Jacket Set Up"

There was a flash of red and orange light. Teana stood, resplendent in her new Barrier Jacket, which was like her old one, only altered both in color and somewhat in form. The hair ties were gone, so her butt-length red-orange hair still hung free just like it did normally. What once was white was now crimson red, and the formerly-blue trim was now gold. On the underlayer/skirt, the red was still red but what used to be black was now a dull violet, and the skirt part was mid-thigh-length. The cumbersome double-belt was gone, and a red-with-gold-trim waist-mounted cape similar to Nanoha's hung from her waist & hips. The thigh-high socks were now only low-calf-length, leaving most of her shapely legs bare. The patch of UNSC NavSpecWar and the arrow-clasping eagle of the Spartans were emblazoned on her outer layer's left chest, the crossed-rifles triangle of Noble Team and the Greek "Gamma" symbol next to each other on the right chest, and on her back was the Uchiha Clan crest, outlined in gold. In her right hand was Cross Mirage's (currently-inactive) Longsword Form, and her left hand held Mirage's .45-cal pistol mode.

"Lookin' _good_, Boss!"

"You really think so?" Teana said, looking down at herself. She rose and crossed her arms in front of her to inspect her gloves, inadvertently squishing her breasts together (Barrier Jackets come with many things, but a bra is not one of them, and since the underlayer of Teana's BJ is skin-tight (except for the skirt)…), causing Setsuna, Negi, & Kotarō to blush while Evangeline, Kū Fei, Nodoka, & Yue felt a sting of jealousy. Chachamaru brought a person-sized mirror out, and Teana checked out her new threads. She liked what she saw.

"So…" she said as she turned away from the mirror to face the others. "When and how should we start training?"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**May 25****th****, 2011**

They hadn't really grown in raw power as much as they had previously grown in the same amount of time. But that was for two rather good reasons. First was that, rather than build up on things that had been "implanted" into their minds, studying Vetus magic was from the ground up for the girls of Gamma. They were, of course, learning and growing at an astonishing rate thanks to the learn-things-faster alteration to their brains. They were also working on honing their _jutsu _skills. Also, Teana was spending a lot of time on training with her now-useful Midchildan magic; with her in-depth military training from the UNSC, her own flexible thinking that she didn't used to have, her new much larger reserves of magic and the new ease of channeling it, and combining with Vetus magic and _jutsu_, her lethal-sat shooting magic was very quickly becoming quite formidable, especially compared to what she used to be with it. She had been teaching it to Marie as well, and had independently developed "Crossfire Wave", which was actually the attack that Nanoha had blasted her with during The Incident (only, of course, set to physical damage).

The second reason was simply because they weren't training nonstop 24/7. They enjoyed the sights & sounds of Mahora, made friends in 3A and hung out with them, and helped stop the occasional lesser demon incursion into the academy's borders. Teana got along rather well with Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, and Yūna, and developed a sort of friendly rivalry with Mana once the older girl discovered Teana's talents (Mirage's scan had shown that Mana's "I'm 15" was bullshit; she was 19, living undercover from her old enemies, and going to school to make up for a childhood spent on the battlefield). Shion and Kazumi hit it off pretty well, and Shion also befriended Akira and – surprisingly – Chisame, who actually soon came to openly admit to others that she considered Shion a friend – incredibly rare, coming from Chisame (and no, the fact that had Shion had Chisame's hairstyle had nothing to do with it). Kaede Fuyō was, of course, drawn to Kaede Nagase out of curiosity, and unsurprisingly the two got along quite well. Fuyō also became friends with Chizuru and Ako.

Marie became friends with Kotarō rather quickly, and with Kū Fei, Misora, and – oddly enough – Makie. Mai was quick friends with Konoka, Chizuru, Ako, and Nodoka. And Ahsoka (or "Aka") got along with Kū Fei, Yue, Haruna, and Zazie (who, to Ahsoka's surprise, had already figured out who "Aka" really was and that the new arrivals must therefore be interdimensional travelers, but she didn't really care where her new friends came from, and chose to keep Ahsoka's secret; after that reveal, the two would regularly have telepathic conversations for their ears – sorry, _minds_ only).

However, for the past three days training had slowed even further, because Evangeline hadn't been out & about to oversee it. Instead, she'd been sulking and downtrodden, looking a little pale and shaky at times… and _supremely _hostile to anyone who came near. It took Teana a little "coercing" to get Chachamaru to inform her of Sebastian von Klaus' status as Eva's "caretaker"/jailer, and that his "detentions", while usually humiliating and sometimes leaving Evangeline shaken, had never left her in this bad of shape. Something involving a day at the Academy nursery…

10 minutes later, Evangeline's darkened room in the Resort had a visitor, the blond-haired immortal's head lifting to glare at the silhouette standing in the doorway.

"This is pathetic" Teana said. "To think that the Great Dark Evangel would be broken by the words of an old man."

"Shut up _right now_, Lanstar" Evangeline snarled, her eyes glowing red.

"Or what?" Teana replied, her Sharingan active to match Eva's glare. "I fear and respect the legendary _Maga Nosferatu_. I _do not _fear _or _respect a _child_ who would do nothing more than sit on her ass and _sulk_."

"I said _shut up! !_" Eva began to rise up off the ground.

Teana smirked evilly. "…Make me, _coward_."

There was a tremendous explosion, and Teana came flying out, Barrier Jacket active, skidding to a stop on the water's surface; her arms were bloodied from blocking the attack that shattered her shield, a few shards of ice embedded in her forearms. Everyone else stared in confusion and awe as Evangeline flew out, ablaze with a white aura of power, her eyes glowing red with rage. She stood atop the water, which boiled where her feet touched, and from her throat came an inhuman, feral growl. Teana smirked again.

"_Now _are you ready to start training us again?"

Evangeline's eyes returned to normal in shock. "…What?"

"Well, our training has slowed without a proper mentor/teacher/overseer, so I _had _to break you out of that funk _somehow_…"

"You… deliberately enraged me…"

"I didn't know what else would work quickly enough for our tastes. You weren't being the Evangeline we all know and fear; I had to fix that by bringing out that oh-so-infamous anger. Now… take that anger, use it to burn away what the old crockpot did to you, and take your rightful place again as our overseer. Your young disciple waits for your teachings, and the rest of us ain't gonna sit around waiting any longer, either."

"…Deliberately angering _me_… I have to admit, Lanstar. This was either the bravest or the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Probably both, actually."

Teana grinned.

"…Well, what are you waiting for? Get your ass up to the sparring field – you vs. _boya_, no weapons, no chakra, 10 minutes or whoever collapses first."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"And get your arm healed first."

As the two headed back up to the main platform (Evangeline flew, Teana chakra-walked up the side), the rest of the group crowded around.

"Deliberately pissing off a SS-rank mage…" Kotarō said. "As far as the expression concerns, I don't care if your leader is a girl; she's got _serious _balls."

"You're just noticing that now?" Marie replied.

Asuna walked up as Teana reached the platform. "_That_… took _guts_."

"To be honest," Teana replied, "I was a little worried there for a few seconds that she might actually be trying to kill me."

"I was" Evangeline shouted from the other end of the platform.

Teana went a teeny bit pale. "Well… things worked out… right? …Come on, Negi; fighting you for a bit might help me shake off the 'I-almost-died' terror I feel right now."

"_Hai_"

The match was close, but Teana lost – just barely. Afterwards, everyone went to dinner, digging in to replenish the energy burned in their training. As she ate, Evangeline started perusing the personnel records that Cross Mirage had provided her. A few minutes later, the meal was interrupted.

"Someone actually managed to _purify _the Book of Darkness and its four knights?" Evangeline said in mild shock.

"How do you know of the Book?" Teana asked.

"I fought and defeated it and its 'Wolkenritter' 178 years ago, when they manifested on this planet."

Silence and shock, as the group (well, Teana and those who'd studied the interesting bits of Midchildan History data – basically, everyone but Kotarō and Kū Fei) stared in shock at the little vampire.

"Yes," Evangeline continued, "some power-hungry young fool sought to use the Book to set himself up as a dark-magic dictator controlling the planet. He made the mistake of challenging _me_. By that point, I'd learned quite a bit about the Book – its capabilities and properties, including regeneration/reincarnation for it and its four guardians. So when the deluded idiot was consumed by the Book's hunger, I did not hesitate to smite him and the cursed tome and its mind-controlled guardians. And I did it…" she smirked "with just one spell. And with that spell, I damaged it so badly that it took 115 years to reappear to its next 'master' on some other world."

"What" Teana whispered flatly. "What kind of insanely powerful spell could…?"

"Ah!" Konoka said. "I think I know what spell! Was it the-"

"Don't spoil it, Konoe!" Eva snapped. "If I have to use it again, I want our guests' first viewing to be a surprise."

For most of the rest of the day, Teana's mind puzzled as she tried to imagine what kind of powerful magic could do that much damage. As she walked the halls around 10pm (Resort time), she spotted Ahsoka heading off to her room, clutching an unmarked plastic bag with a rectangular box in it.

"Hey, Ah-chan" she said, causing the Togrutan teen to jump slightly. "Going to bed early?"

"Y-yeah" Ahsoka replied, fidgeting a bit. "I'm… feeling kinda tired, y'know?"

"Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, this?" she clutched the bag tighter. "Just… somethin'."

"What kind of somethin'?"

"It's… it's a present from Haruna. I… don't really know how it works, so I was gonna go to bed early and… see if I can figure it out. We talked for a while, and she said I'd really like it… and she had kind of a weird grin on her face, but… yeah…"

"…Okay. Be careful."

"W-will do, boss."

Teana headed out to the largest of the outside platforms, basking in the artificial moonlight. There, she saw Negi, going through _katas _shirtless. After a few seconds of staring at him, she shook her head to try and shake off the light blush she had going, and then walked up. Negi noticed her and smiled.

"Hey, Teana-san. I was wondering if you could teach me a few _Fūton ninjutsu_. Could you?"

"…Alright, I'll show you the basics. But only for half an hour, and then it's bedtime."

"Aw. You sound like Asuna-san."

"You may be a prodigy mage, but you're still 10. Kids need sleep."

"Yes, ma'am."

35 minutes later, right after he got a solid grasp on the basics of wind-type chakra nature transformation, Negi's need for rest finally caught up to him. Walking through the corridors, Teana handed a sleeping Negi to Asuna, who then carried him off to bed. She then headed to her own room, falling asleep within 10 minutes.

In Ahsoka's room, the girl lay on her bed clad in nothing, body still twitching slightly, panting for breath, her face flushed, as she looked at the still-buzzing object in her hand.

"Where… have you been all my life?" she said almost lovingly to the toy. So much for boring nights from here on out…

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	3. Festival Day 1

Let the festivities commence!

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**June 19****th****, 2011**

"Wow…"

No other sentiment could really describe, in one word, the sheer spectacle of the Mahora Festival. Due to start tomorrow, the city-wide extravaganza was shaping up to more than live up to its stellar reputation. Now, a group consisting of Negi, Kotarō, Teana, Zhal Arum (still in a magic don't-notice-my-oddness robe), Asuna, and Setsuna wandered the bustling streets. Negi, Setsuna, and Teana were fresh from an impromptu meeting with the Headmaster and his mage-staff at the base of the World Tree, where the old man had outlined the nature of the Tree's magic and what would happen if anyone made confession of love within its areas of influence. Now they looked around, marveling at the sights of the under-construction mega-festival.

"I've gotta thank you again for all the help lately, Teana-san" Asuna said. "What with keeping the girls in line, getting things organized, _and _scaring Demon Nitta off whenever he tried to harass us."

"It's what I do" the older redhead replied.

The sightseeing was interrupted as a robed figure plummeted into a stand of blankets ("Hand-Made!") to their right. Negi immediately moved to help her, and her hood fell back to reveal Chao Lingshen.

"Negi-sensei!" she said. "I'm being chased by bad mages!"

Negi's group looked to each other, and very quickly reached unanimous decision.

"Don't worry, Chao-san" Negi said. "We'll protect you."

They quickly took to the rooftops, Negi carrying Chao, and soon their pursuers revealed themselves, hot on the heroes' tails: two tall men in black suits & sunglasses, a young auburn-haired girl around 14 wielding a broom that, to those who could sense it, brimmed with magic, a taller blonde-haired girl who looked kind of like Ayaka and kind of not, and five summoned shadow-demons under the blonde's control. One of the summons launched forward at the group, but Negi – still holding Chao – dispatched it with a series of magic-infused kicks. One of the two men fired a barrage of magic bolts, but Asuna summoned her _harisen _and dispelled them with a single wave. Kotarō let loose a quartet of shadow-_inugami_, which foiled the redhead's charging attack and then teamed up to bring down one of the four remaining shadow-summons, clawing and biting until it dispersed in a puff of smoke; their job done, the _inugami _returned to the shadows.

The blonde looked rather pissed off at this, and sent the three remaining summons – her two biggest, at the moment – to attack the group. Zhal Arum stopped, turned, and stood his ground as the second-largest – only a foot shorter than him – charged straight toward him. Just as it reached him, his left arm lashed out, catching the thing in a lariat move and then slamming it _hard _into the ground. He would've finished it off with a plasma sword strike, but the lariat-slam combo itself had dealt enough damage to dispel the shadowy summon. The smallest of the summon trio charged the main group, but Teana spun around mid-leap, forming a _Tiger _hand-seal as she took a breath.

"_Katon: Kakyū_!"

The three-foot-wide fireball smashed dead-on into the summon's face, dispelling the shadow-creature. As she turned and caught back up with the main group, the largest of the summons – easily Arum's size – appeared in front of them. Teana charged forward, and the results of her latest training manifested as, to Negi & company's amazement, a bluish-white sphere of swirling chakra formed in her right palm, and was then slammed into the summon's chest.

"_Rasengan_!"

The sphere of violent chakra began to spin and grind into the summon for several seconds, before the creature was suddenly launched backward at great force, the 'detonating' Rasengan's concussive power sending it spinning helplessly through the air at about eight revolutions per second; as it spun, it broke apart into nothingness, courtesy of the massive hole blasted in its torso by the attack. Their way clear, the team left their pursuers in the dust. They soon reached a lightly populated small plaza, finding Nodoka and Kaede Fuyō there.

"Sensei?" Nodoka asked, seeing him gently letting Chao back to her feet. "What's going on?"

"A group of mages – from this academy, oddly enough – were chasing Chao-san" Negi replied. "They meant to do her harm."

"You saved me, Negi-sensei!" Chao said, pulling him into a quick hug. "They were going to wipe my memories!"

"Why would they do that?" Kotarō said.

"I've known of magic for quite some time, but these guys don't seem to believe that. And you know what they do to "mundanes" who find out about magic…"

Teana turned to the two new girls. "Nodoka-san?"

"She's telling the truth" Nodoka said, looking at her _Diarium Ejus_. "I can't find how, but she's known about magic since she was six. It looks like she can't _use _it, however, though the book's scanner that I recently 'installed' is detecting a modestly high amount of chakra in her body."

Any further questions were interrupted by new arrivals. A few seconds later, Kataragi and Gandolfini had a grip on each of Chao's arms… and Teana had a Mirage Longsword held to each of the two men's throats.

"Let. Her. _Go_."

She accented her last word by moving each blade a few millimeters closer, and the men felt as the skin on the fronts of their necks singed as the monomolecular-edge blades made feather-light contact, burning through the very outermost layer of epidermis. They, wisely, immediately let go of Chao and backed off, not willing to lose their heads over this affair. Takane and Mai leapt in, and the former impulsively sent a pair of shadow-summons at Chao… and then watched as an unseen force cut them down. Light bended and shifted, and Takane found a glowing green energy blade held four centimeters her throat, coming from the gold-plated, green-gemmed device on Shion's arm. Kaede was pointing her index, middle, and ring fingers of her outstretched right hand at Mei, ready to demonstrate her _kekkei genkai _if needed.

"Why are you interfering with mage business?" Gandolfini asked sharply, one hand still rubbing his throat.

In response, Negi grabbed Nodoka's magical diary and held it up to the four 'hostiles', showing them what Nodoka had gleamed from Chao's mind. Faced with undeniable proof from the legendary _Diarium Ejus_, a look of comprehension and sheepishness crossed the four's faces. They left without another word, and Negi handed the book back to Nodoka while giving her a warm smile that the girl's imagination promptly added sparkles surrounding him to. Asuna, whose above-average sight noticed this in the closing book's image of Nodoka's thoughts, bit back a laugh.

"How can I ever thank you, Negi-sensei?" Chao said, before suddenly her eyes apparently widened with an idea. "I know! I can give you _this_!"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like an old-timey pocket watch, handing it to Negi. "It's called the Cassiopeia."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**June 20****th****, 2011**

**Mahora Festival – Day One**

"It's a _what_?-!"

"A time machine, Ahsoka-san" Negi said, looking at the incredulous faces of the girls of Gamma; Setsuna stood to his right, still in that revealing bunnygirl outfit that inexplicably drew Negi's eyes to her body whenever he looked at her. "Chao-san gave me the details."

"After claiming to be an alien from Mars" Chamo added in.

"…Well," Teana said, "I for one have a suspicion that she may have been telling a half-truth there, despite how odd it sounds. In the first timeline other than my own that I visited, Mars had been terraformed and human-populated since the 2100s. Maybe Chao is from a point in this timeline's future where this universe's Mars has been terraformed."

"But she said that it normally couldn't handle anything more than 36 hours maximum" Negi said.

"_Normally_ is the key word. Maybe if it's used at a nexus of magical energy, and charged up for a long time, it can handle bigger jumps. With what the little manual's charging/cooldown period says, though, making a jump on the order of a century or more would take _years _to charge, and would require a _humongous _amount of magical power. Maybe she hasn't been here in this current time period long enough for another jump of that magnitude."

"So… she's from the future, but she's stuck here in this time?" Setsuna said.

"And has been for a few years, most likely" Shion replied. "The question is: why would she come back to the turn of the 21st century? Was it to meet a beloved ancestor, or maybe to try to prevent some horrible tragedy? Or is she maybe just a temporal tourist, or maybe people aren't very friendly in her time and she came back just to actually find and make friends? Only she knows, really."

After several seconds of silence, Chamo piped up.

"We can ruminate on this later. Right now, _aniki _has something more important to get ready for."

"What's that?" Kaede (Fuyō) asked.

"His date with Nodoka-_jōchan_!"

"Chamo-kun!" Negi whined, his face going red. "I-It's not a date! We're just-"

"Hanging out together, having one-on-one heartfelt talks, seeing the sights, enjoying each other's company, trying things out in the wake of her confession back in Kyōto…" Setsuna cut in. "Yeah. It's a date."

Negi blushed even brighter. Teana put a hand on his head and lightly ruffled his hair.

"Our little man's growin' up…" she said. "I'm so proud!"

Negi's face went as red as Teana's (armor/Sharingan/Barrier-Jacket – take your pick).

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**95 minutes later**

"What is going on here?"

Takane's sharp tone cut through the awkward tension that the latest tumble had caused, and Nodoka and Negi – the former on her hands & knees directly over the fallen latter – both looked at the blond and her auburn-haired sidekick.

"I expect you to be doing your duty, Springfield, and yet here you lie cavorting about with a girl – and one of your own students at that!"

"But I _am _on patrol!" Negi protested. "I have Shadow Clones on duty" he lied, mainly because Takane probably wouldn't believe him if he told her how his own temporally-displaced self/selves were likely here & there across the campus. "Teana-san taught it to me; plus, she and her _Kage Bunshin _are helping patrol, as well." Well, the original Teana was likely relaxing and enjoying the festival, but Negi knew for a fact that she _did _have eight Shadow Clones on patrol, Shion and Mai had four each on duty, and each of the other three Gamma girls had two each running about.

"_Sempai_!" Mei interrupted, holding some bizarre handheld scanner. "We're near a danger zone, and this girl's readings are off the charts! She could confess at any minute!"

Takane moved forward, intending to grab Nodoka despite Negi's protests, when suddenly a small white projectile shot through the air right in front of Takane's outstretched hand, leaving a small, shallow cut on her fingertip.

"Hold it right there!"

The four turned, spotting Kaede Fuyō balancing/posing atop a six-foot-tall lamppost, her left hand held out and her index finger pointed at Takane. She leapt down and walked confidently over to the four.

"Nodoka-san has _already _confessed to Negi-kun… _back in April_, during the Kyōto Trip. This is their first try-out date… _and you two are ruining it for them_!"

Before Takane could respond, there was a _whoosh _behind her. She spun to look, and Negi & Nodoka were gone.

"Sorry about that, Nodoka-san" Negi said, as he and his date stood atop a roof.

"I-it's okay, Negi-sensei…"

"Is there any way I could make it up to you?"

"There's nothing _to _make up for, sensei. But… if it wasn't too much trouble… maybe… a… k-kiss?"

A rather deep blush. "…Huh?"

"A-A romantic one… Ah, f-forget I said anything!"

Before either could react, the World Tree began to glow, and a pillar of light surrounded Negi.

'Shit!' Negi thought. 'How could I have been so careless?-!'

Any further independent thought stopped there as the geass took hold. Negi looked up, a dead/glazed look in his eyes.

"A kiss…" he said in a flat tone. "Alright. Would a 'deep' one do?"

It took Nodoka only a few seconds to remember what Chamo had mentioned, and realize that Negi was now under the World Tree's control. That few seconds was all Negi needed to rush forward, catch her as she fell back, and lean in close.

"Baka-Negi! What the hell do you think you're doing?-!"

Controlled!Negi casually lurched backward, dodging Asuna's _harisen _strike by less than 10 centimeters. Setsuna and Ahsoka weren't far behind.

"Asuna!" Ahsoka cried out. "He's being controlled! I can sense the World Tree's energies flowing through him!"

"Nodoka-san…" Controlled!Negi said rather unstably, with a predatory grin on his face.

Asuna turned to Nodoka. "What… did you say to him?"

"I just asked him for a…" she noticed the other two. "I can't say it! It's too embarrassing!"

"Pardon me for a moment, Asuna-san" Controlled!Negi said from directly behind the redhead, and Asuna barely reacted in time to catch the punch, her innate anti-magic dispelling the power behind the attack. Asuna threw down a smoke pellet, and used the resulting cover to grab hold of Nodoka and roof-hop away, leaving Negi to contend with Ahsoka & Setsuna. The two girls eventually landed on a rooftop seating area with tables, chairs, and a few umbrellas.

"So…" Asuna said. "Are you going to tell me what exactly you've done, so that we can maybe try and stop him?"

Nodoka began to quiver. "U-um…" she bid Asuna closer, and whispered in her ear.

"A deep kiss?-!" Asuna's yell split the air.

"P-please, Asuna-san! Not so loud! It's embarra-"

Interruption again came in the form of Controlled!Negi, landing on the rooftop a few meters from them. Setsuna leapt in, landing between the girls and Negi, while Ahsoka stood off to the side. Setsuna and Negi exchanged unarmed blows, leaving Setsuna surprised at how far Negi had come lately. A bolt of shadow magic knocked Negi back.

"I should have expected something like this, Springfield!" Takane said, Mei and three of her golems standing at her side. "I knew it was a poor idea to-"

Negi was there, bashing away Takane's shadow-golems, and then turned a palm to them as they tried to ready weapons.

"_Flans Exarmatio_!"

And then Takane & Mei were out of the fight, screaming as they dropped to the ground and tried to cover their completely exposed bodies. A barrage of finger-bullets flew in, punching into the concrete at Negi's feet, and Kaede F. leapt in, wielding a four-foot-long bō staff made of super-hardened bone. More people joined the party as Konoka and Haruna came up from the stairs, spotting the truly bizarre circumstances before their eyes.

"That's far enough, Negi-kun" Kaede said, as Ahsoka (disguise-cloak still in position, by the way) got into position next to her. "We heard everything."

"M-maybe I should just let him do it…" Nodoka said.

"Are you crazy?-!" Asuna replied. "Do you see the look in his eyes?-! If that Kissing Terminator caught you right now… he'd suffocate you!"

"…Kissing Terminator?" Konoka said, as she and Haruna offered some nearby (clean) tablecloths to Takane & Mei with which to cover themselves.

Negi moved toward Kaede, and she managed to use her staff to block his blows. However, he got through her defenses and hit her with a _Flans Exarmatio_, shredding all clothing above the waist. Rather than folding in on herself like the other two girls did, however, Kaede used one arm to cover her breasts while the other reached into her pocket and pulled out a scroll. Figuring that Negi might not remember things once he regained control anyway, she freed her other hand (and her breasts) so that she could cut a small wound on her thumb-tip with her canine tooth and then ran it across the now-open scroll, which she then quickly wrapped around herself. The puff of summon-smoke faded to reveal that her upper torso and shoulders were now covered by armor of super-hardened bone, which she had meticulously formed and then stored for summoning for if/when she would need it.

"_Kotsu no Yoroi_!"

"Give it up, Negi" Ahsoka said. "If you wanna get to Nodoka, you'll have to get us first!"

The World Tree began to glow. Ahsoka suddenly got a look of horror on her face.

"Crap! I meant to say _go through us_! Not 'get us', 'go through us'!"

"Too late!"

"…Understood" Controlled!Negi said. "Whichever of you I catch first, then?"

And then he was on them. Kaede & Ahsoka fought on the defensive, blocking the boy's attacks as best they could.

'He won't stop until he kisses someone…' Asuna thought, 'but it seems like the spell can be altered…' "Negi! If and when you catch someone, don't make it an oxygen-depriving deep kiss; make it a _regular, closed-mouth, non-deep _kiss, and no longer than 10 seconds!"

Haruna and Konoka noticed the sudden glow of the World Tree and the corresponding glow in Negi's eyes. "Understood. Regular kiss, 10 seconds."

Haruna stared back and forth at the scene. "…the Tree is controlling Negi-kun?-! The legend didn't mention that the person involved in the Tree's power didn't have control of themselves! Getting into romantic stuff but not really being there to enjoy it… where's the fun in that?"

The girls began to falter under Controlled!Negi's relentless assault. Suddenly, Negi fired a mild shockwave down at a sharp angle, stunning the combatants. Ahsoka, leaning against a fallen table, moaned in pain and rubbed the back of her head. She opened her eyes… and Negi was right there, his face only a few inches from hers.

"U-um… no, wai-mph!"

Those around stared with rapt attention as the tree-controlled Negi claimed the shocked teen's lips; even though Ahsoka's hood was still up, and her skin was naturally red, they could still see the flush on her cheeks. To great surprise, however (theirs _and _her own), after a few seconds she closed her eyes and even leaned into the kiss a little bit!

'You lucky little…' went the thought-train of Haruna… and Nodoka… and, in the back of her mind, Asuna.

When the 10 seconds were up, Negi broke away and stepped back. A quick flash of light emitted from him and flowed up into the tree, signaling that its hold over him was now broken. The first thing he saw was Ahsoka, still cloaked, eyes half-lidded, almost-imperceptibly-lightly panting, and with a rather deep blush, leaning against the fallen table. He looked around, spotting the light blushes on the other girls around him, the bone-clad chest of Kaede, and the barely-covered Takane and Mei.

"…What the heck happened here?" he asked. Suddenly, he went pale as realization kicked in. "…The Tree made me do something, didn't it?"

"_Yes_" Takane's single spoken word was sharp and harsh, almost growled out.

"Am I gonna get my ass kicked now for whatever I did?"

"N-no" Ahsoka shakily said. "You're… you're cool for now."

She blushed as Negi held out a hand, but took it and allowed him to help her to her feet.

Takane and Mei slinked off, hugging the tablecloths around their bodies, destined to find some clothing; Kaede, with her midriff-exposing armor that nonetheless covered her assets, would still be okay for a bit. Ahsoka calmly walked to the rail, staring off into space. Haruna converged on Setsuna, Asuna, Nodoka, and Negi.

"So… what happened?"

"Nodoka-san wasn't paying attention to her and Negi-sensei's surroundings" Setsuna started, "and she… asked him for a 'deep' kiss."

Nodoka went beet-red, while Haruna grinned at her.

"Good on ya, _honya_!" Haruna said, flashing a thumbs-up at her shy little friend.

"And then we all jumped in before he could suffocate her" Kaede added in, blushing at the next bit. "But we… accidentally said things in a way that shifted his focus from Nodoka to me and Ahsoka."

"Did… did I hurt you, Fuyō-san?" Negi asked.

"No. Asuna managed to change the tree's spell from oxygen-deprivating deep kiss to 10-second-long closed-mouth kiss, so it wouldn't have caused any harm."

"I'm sorry. Did I… did I get you or Asuna or…"

"You got Ahsoka."

With this, Negi realized that how Ahsoka had looked when he came to made sense.

"Don't worry, though" Setsuna said. "She… doesn't really seem mad."

"Doesn't seem mad?" Haruna cut in. "She was gettin' into it! I think you gave her quite the pleasant experience, Negi-kun!"

Negi blushed.

"So…" Haruna continued. "The World Tree's legend has some truth to it. But still, to make it so the person affected has no control of themselves, and doesn't even remember it… that's not romantic at all! _True _romance and pleasure blooms with mutual consent!"

"So… Paru," Asuna cut in, "knowing that, you think you could do us a favor and help be on the lookout for anyone who looks like they're gearing up for a confession in any of these areas," she handed Haruna a map of the campus with marked areas around the Tree, "and somehow break it up, maybe lead them to a place outside the Danger Zones?"

"Of course I can!" Haruna said. "To force someone into love against their will is abhorrent! It is my duty to oversee the bonds of true love, and to ensure that each bond is truly true! In this endeavor, you now have the assistance of Paru-sama!"

She made the classic Sailor Moon pose as she finished.

"But only if you explain to me _exactly _what is going on around here."

They tensed up. Before Asuna could rebuke Haruna, Kaede walked up and placed her hands on Haruna's shoulders.

"I will tell you _only if _you _do not _tell anyone else who doesn't already know. If you do tell others, Negi-kun will be taken away from us all forever, and our memories of having ever known him will be _wiped from our minds_. Understood?"

"…This _is _serious stuff…" Haruna said. "If it means keeping Negi-kun around, though, I can definitely keep these secrets."

"Come on, then" Asuna said. "Let's go get Kaede-chan a new bra and shirt, and then once we're alone Konoka, Setsuna, and I will tell you."

Negi, meanwhile, walked over to Ahsoka.

"Um… are you okay?"

The girl shook herself out of her daze, and blushed upon seeing who it was.

"Y-yeah, I'm… I'm fine."

"I'm… sorry if I-"

"It's okay. You… didn't hurt me, and…" she started twiddling her fingers a little as her voice went quiet. "I… I actually kinda… kinda liked it…"

"Ah."

"I… need some time to think. I'm not mad at you! In fact, I… like you. It's just that… after what just happened, I just need some time to sort my thoughts and figure out just what type of 'like' it is. …You should get going. You still need to finish your date with Nodoka-chan, right?"

"Y-Yeah…" Negi said, smiling despite the awkwardness. She reached out and held his hand for a few seconds, and then let him go, and he walked back over to Nodoka, who shyly smiled and walked off with him. Ahsoka reached a hand up and gently touched her lips.

"So soft…"

She shook her head and turned round, seeing Kaede standing there smiling knowingly at her.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Tournament Area**

**That Night**

"We have the results of our preliminary qualifying rounds!" Kazumi announced. "We will now display tomorrow's match-ups on the big screen!"

Upon seeing the display, some people smiled, some responded with dismay or even fear, and other stared impassively to hide the boiling emotion within them.

KOTARŌ MURAKAMI vs. MEI SAKURA

KU-NEL SANDERS vs. DAIGŌIN

KAEDE NAGASE vs. KŪ FEI

MANA TATSUMIYA vs. TEANA UCHIHA-LANSTAR

TAKANE GOODMAN vs. AKA TANŌ

NEGI SPRINGFIELD vs. TAKAMICHI TAKAHATA

ASUNA KAGURAZAKA vs. SETSUNA SAKURAZAKI

EVANGELINE MCDOWELL vs. SEBASTIAN VON KLAUS

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	4. Budokai 1  Strength and Hatred

For the girls of Gamma, this is a wonderful chance to have some fun and test their mettle. For Evangeline, this is a wonderful chance to violently release years of pent-up resentment/anger at her "caretaker"/jailer.

Sorry for the long wait, but I'm… not that good at fight scenes.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mahora Tournament Stage**

**June 21****st****, 2011**

"Whoa! An amazing, single-strike victory for Ku-Nel Sanders! Let's give him a hand as the medics cart poor Daigōin off to the infirmary!"

"Man, that might have even been more one-sided than Kotarō-kun's fight against Mei-chan" Mai said.

"Okay, up next we have a match between two of the most powerful _ki_-users on campus – hell, maybe the country: the pint-sized powerhouse Kū Fei (Fei: "Hey! Since when is 1 ½ meters and 40 kilos pint-sized-_aru_?~!") vs. the kind-hearted kickass _kunoichi _Kaede Nagase!"

The two combatants leisurely walked onto either side of the stage, waving to the crowd a few times. Kazumi stepped off of the ring/stage, and several seconds later the starting bell rang. Immediately the two flash-stepped toward each other, blocking each other's starting blows as they met in the middle. They flew into a series of rapid-fire close-combat attacks, each one blocked or dodged. They broke off, sizing each other up.

"So…" Yūna, currently in the stands, said to her compatriots. "Aren't you all glad that Zazie-san and those friendly soldiers that Teana-san somehow knows volunteered to hold the fort at 3-A so we could all come watch the tournament?"

Around her, Ayaka, Ako, Makie, Akira, Misa, Madoka, Sakurako, Fūka, and Fumika all nodded. Ayaka had to admit; the dog boy adhering to his personal 'no hitting women' code by somehow generating a burst of air pressure to launch Mei clear out of the ring was a little impressive. Now, the twins cheered on their unofficial _sensei_, while Makie and Sakurako seemed to be rooting for Kū Fei.

Back in the ring, Kaede formed a sequence of hand-seals and shot out eight shots with _Katon: Hōsenka_. Fei retaliated by forming a few seals of her own, and then slamming her palms into the ground while calling out "_Doton: Doryūheki_!" A seven-foot-tall, meter-wide, 10cm-thick slab of rock shot out from underneath the ring, shoving tiles aside as it rose and blocked the incoming attack. A tad odd how Kaede Fuyō had taught these two techniques to each of them, yet now they were using them against each other… if only for sport.

Fei ran out to the side, approaching Nagase diagonally. When she got close, she caught Kaede off-guard by using the sash around her waist as a whip, which Kaede barely managed to dodge. The last hit wrapped round her ankle, and Kū used the grip to whip-slam her into the ground.

"And after a sweet display of element-based _ninjutsu_ from the both of them, Kū Fei deals a solid hit with the use of _fusōjutsu_" said… that commentator guy from the Tournament Arc who sat next to Chachamaru & Chisame and made comments on techniques. (AN: I don't have any copies of the manga, and MangaFox is a tad misbehaving, so I'm winging things from memory)

Kaede leapt up and back, none the worse for wear as she'd reinforced her body with _chakra _during the split-second of impact. Kū responded by thrusting her palm forward.

"_Rekkūshō_!"

A fist-sized bolt of _ki _shot forth toward Kaede, who barely managed to dodge, feeling the heat on her face as it zoomed past. Several more followed, each one launched by a palm thrust by Kū Fei. Kaede formed three Shadow Clones; one took the hits, while the other two threw the original into the air before being dispersed by the shots. Kū ceased fire, as up above Kaede formed another _Kage Bunshin _who swung and threw Kaede down at Fei at high speed, Kaede readying a punch to go with all that momentum. Kū barely managed to solidly catch the punch, and the dispersed energy caused the tiles beneath her to shatter explosively, a light crater forming beneath her as the power was distributed into the ground.

Both fighters leapt out of the small dust clouds, staring at each other through it. And then they charged again.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"Everything is progressing nicely"

"What about Negi-kun and his girls?"

"If they don't opt to join us, I've already developed a way to get them out of the way. And the same goes for Lanstar-san's team"

"I just hope this plan of yours is foolproof"

"Never underestimate the ingenuity of fools. But I feel that this is as close to foolproof as we can afford to get."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Kaede stood, panting noticeably, as Kū Fei struggled to her feet again.

"I…" Fei wheezed out. "I think that's enough for now-_aru_. I can… tell that I'm running on empty, while you still have some… ow… fight left in you. I… I give-_arune_."

And she allowed herself to fall again, rolling over to stare at the sky… once she got enough energy to open her eyes again, that is.

"And there we have it! After a truly superb _taijutsu _battle – yet strangely lacking in any more flashy blasts or element-slinging – Kū Fei has voluntarily withdrawn from the match! Kaede Nagase will advance to the second round!"

Kaede walked over and tried to lift Kū Fei so as to carry her to the infirmary, but she was at the moment a little too sore to do so, and thus she had to leave Fei to the two medics who came out; Kū declined a stretcher, opting to have the young gentleman and lady drape an arm over each of them and walk her to the med-bay. Kaede walked off soon after, and Konoka discreetly healed what she could, which wasn't everything (the match had most definitely gone on for longer than three minutes). As the repairmen got to work fixing the broken tiles, Kaede walked over to the group and nestled in, using a railing for support until she got herself together again.

Makie and Sakurako each forked over 400 yen to Fūka and Fumika, respectively.

10 MINUTES LATER

"Okay, ladies & gentlemen! Now that the stage is in working order, let's move on to the next match. In one corner, we have the Mercenary _Miko_, Ms. Tall, Dark, & Beautiful, the Markswoman of Mahora, Mana Tatsumiya! And in the other, say hello to one of our fair academy's newcomers, this beautiful and _gifted_ redhead, the Crimson Sword, the Red Ace, Teana Uchiha-Lanstar!"

The two young women walked onto the stage, Teana feeling more than a little pride at being called an Ace; she didn't know who came up with the titles for the tournament, but she liked said person already.

"Go get 'er, boss!" Marie shouted, waving a tiny little flag with the Uchiha symbol on it.

"Now, folks, we have something very special for this match." Kazumi stepped out of the ring, and hit a button on a remote near the judges' table. A transparent energy field shimmered into place, forming 'walls' surrounding the ring. "This energy field is made to stop stray shots. It is here because Ms. Lanstar paid the tournament a not-insignificant 'donation' in exchange for allowing her and Mana to have a full-out gunslinger fight. They will, of course, be using only rubber bullets and stun bolts. And this is _only _for this particular match."

"Mirage" Teana whispered to her Device, currently in dual-pistol form in a pair of holsters on her hips. "Status?"

"Magic-shooting-mode attachment ready; magic bolts set to non-physical damage."

The two combatants walked toward each other, stopping about 12 feet from each other; both of them had their eyes closed. The bell rang, and they remained in silent position for several seconds. Then, both snapped their eyes open at the same time – _Sharingan _for one, _Magan _for the other – and charged, both drawing their pistols. Teana dashed forward, left gun pointed at Mana, and Mana used her right wrist to shove Teana's aside, the bolt of orange energy missing Mana's head by a few centimeters. Mana pointed her shot at Teana's forehead, and Teana moved her head to the side and her wrist into Mana's, pushing the taller girl's shot aside; an ever-present protective spell kept Teana's eardrum completely undamaged by the shot's sound next to her head. All the while, the defensive shield surrounding the ring stopped the shots with barely a ripple. The speed of their attacks and counters increased, narrow-miss shots hitting the surrounding field, accompanied by the light sounds of 'impacts' as they shoved or slapped each other's hands/wrists off-course at the last split-second. The crowd watched in awe.

"Man, I think I saw this in some '02 American movie" Mr. Commentator said.

"They're not gonna start reloading by launching bullets out from between their boobs and catching them midair in their guns, are they?" Haruna half-snarked; from what could see, these two definitely had the 'talent' to match Rushuna's titillating trick.

"Nah" Kotarō responded. "Teana-_nechan _lent Mana-san an attachment for that 'magical armory teleport' thing or whatever it was. Besides, those are semi-automatic pistols, not revolvers."

"…How did you know that what I mentioned involved revolvers, Kota-kun?"

Kotarō blushed. "I… I caught it on TV once, and it… caught my interest. …I'm not a pervert! I was watchin' the fight scenes!" He would not mention that he had found himself imaging Chizuru in the show's heroine's costume, spinning and shooting and… bouncing… He shook his head, hoping Haruna hadn't seen the light blush on his face and the glazed look in his eyes. Judging by the Cheshire-cat grin Haruna now had, she had indeed seen.

Mana leapt back, firing several shots; Teana, with the aid of her bloodline eyes, intercepted the shots with her own. Teana then mentally incanted her next spell, before then calling out the attack:

"_Sagitta Magica: Series Ignis_!"

A barrage of 17 projectiles of fire magic formed and shot forth from the air surrounding Teana, blazing through the air and flying straight toward Mana. She shot three out of the air, but had to take evasive action to avoid the rest. Six hit the ground, but the remaining seven arrows turned and tracked, chasing her. She pulled out several _yen _coins from her pocket and 'fired' them at the incoming shots, taking them out. She then fired several at Teana, who dodged with ease. Teana then formed a sequence of hand-seals while breathing in.

"_Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_!"

Teana threw her head forward, shooting/blowing a barrage of small, high-speed 'bullets' of wind chakra. Mana dodged most, but a few got through, and even with a constant flow of protective chakra and magic surrounding her, the hits still drew blood and/or left little bruises; she knew that, had she been completely unshielded, those shots could've torn through her body just like bullets. Apparently, lethal-type _ninjutsu _couldn't be set to 'stun' like lethal magic could. As Teana cut off her barrage, Mana straightened up, staring the six-inches-shorter girl in the eyes.

"I've been looking through some of the Headmaster's notes whenever I visit his office to collect my pay," Mana said, "and I've come across a few _very _interesting things. Here's something I think you'll like, Lanstar."

She raised her hand, pointing her palm with outstretched fingers at Teana, and at Mana's feet came into being a dark-blue magic circle… a Midchildan one.

"Crossfire…"

Teana stared in shock as several spheres of deep-blue shooting magic sprang into existence, all of them surrounding her. Mana moved her fingers ever so slightly back, and the spheres pulsed.

"…Convergence!"

And Mana snapped her hand closed into a fist, and every single sphere of magic rushed in at Teana, attacking her from every direction and throwing up a cloud of smoke. Teana had managed to snap a defensive shield up and to harden her body's defenses with chakra, but a few shots had gotten through before she could do either, leaving her in a not-unnoticeable amount of pain. That pain was compounded when, through the smoke, Mana's punch smashed into her jaw, sending her hurtling back; she caught herself mid-fall, back-springing to her feet. If she hadn't had magic protecting and anchoring her chompers, that blow would've definitely knocked a tooth or two out.

Unfortunately for Mana, Teana now decided to cut the crap. She flash-stepped toward Mana, who saw the incoming punch and ducked… into a kick to the gut. She drew her guns and tried to get Teana point-blank, but the shorter girl dodged and then… vanished from sight.

'Where did sh-'

BAM. Teana's spring-kick sent Mana flying up into the air. Teana then flashed up, appearing in the air behind Mana. At this point, Teana set about performing the motions made by her younger cousin in that video from the Chūnin Exams three years ago. An arm strike feint was blocked by Mana, leaving the taller girl open to a falling kick that started her downward descent. As they fell, another arm strike dealt more damage and increased rate of fall. Finally, just as Mana hit the ground, Teana's leg came down into Mana's torso, slamming the older girl _hard _into the arena floor.

"_Shishi Rendan_!"

Teana rebounded from the strike, flipping through the air and landing on her feet a few meters away, breathing a little hard. After 10 seconds, Mana had not been able to get back to her feet; the arena-surrounding field shut down.

"And with a superb _taijutsu _combo, Teana-san advances to the second round!"

As the medics helped get Mana to the med-bay and Teana walked slowly over to join the group, Haruna turned to 'Aka'.

"So… I've been told pretty much everything… except for one thing: who _you _are, Aka-chan. They refused to tell me, saying that it's your choice. Any reason why?"

"Most likely," Ahsoka said, absent-mindedly making sure her disguise cloak was still hiding her features, "because unlike the other girls of Gamma, I'm from a universe that is fiction in this universe. And that you _have _seen the series that I'm from. I've had the others hold off because I don't want you accidentally cheering me on with my real name during the tournament in front of all these people. It'll… cause trouble. I promise that once I'm out of the tournament, I'll show you who I am."

"…Okay, fine. Can I at least try to guess?"

"I won't answer even if you guess right. But you can try to compile a list of suspects, and when I show you who I am you can see if you were right."

"Fair enough. Isn't your match next?"

"Huh? Oh yeah"

The magical-cloak-wearing Jedi teen walked out and onto the ring, as the black-clad blonde girl came up on the other side.

"Alright, then, folks, let's get the next match going! In one corner, we have another of our mysterious newcomers, though I can personally say that despite the shifty cloaked look she's quite friendly and sociable, not some freaky stoic loner like you'd think from the cloak. The Cloaked Heart, the Crimson Fist, 'Aka'! And in the other corner, our ever-serious by-the-book junior security commissioner, the Shadow-Seer, Takane Goodman!"

The two girls walked up to the middle of the stage, staring each other down. This close, Ahsoka could sense – and, for that matter, see – that something was odd about that dress Takane was wearing.

'Solidified shadow-magic as clothing? Not sure that's a wise idea. Let's hope for her sake that Takane never goes up against Asuna in close quarters. Or any mage with strong light-element magic.'

The bell rang, and immediately Ahsoka shot forward; her opening punch was caught by a flattened tendril of shadow that sprung up from Takane's clothes to protect her face. A few more blows came, harder this time, and Takane actually winced almost-imperceptibly upon blocking the lightning-infused right cross. Ahsoka leapt away, stopping several meters back. She lashed her hand out, and several bolts of lightning magic formed around her and then shot forth.

"_Sagitta Magica! Series Fulgoralis!_"

The 23 bolts of magic zoomed toward Takane, who dodged some and blocked a few others. By this time, Ahsoka was weaving a few hand-seals, and then thrusted her right hand forward.

"_Raiton: Rairyōken no Jutsu_!" (AN: _ryōken _= 'hound'… I think; it's my name for the officially-unnamed _jutsu _Kakashi used against Deva Pain)

The whitish-yellow energy formed into the front half of an attack hound, 'running' toward Takane at great speed, zig-zagging to dodge the girl's shadow-bolts as it closed in. When it reached her, she raised a shield… which the hound merely flashed around, sinking its electric fangs into Takane's arm. The blond girl screamed as the electrical energy coursed through her. As the hound faded into nothing, she glared angrily at the cloaked teen, her hair standing up a little from the shocking. She shot both hands forward, and a barrage of 50 spears of shadow shot toward Ahsoka at high speed. The cloaked teen ran around, narrowly dodging the shots as they tore into the ground upon missing her. Finally, a few wrapped around her leg, and soon Ahsoka found herself being flung through the air and then slammed into the ground, kicking up a small dust cloud.

After a few seconds, Ahsoka got to her feet, shaking off the pain (thankfully the cloak's magic kept it from being dislodged easily, so her head was still hidden. A hand seal later, and Ahsoka & two Illusion Clones were charging Takane, the two mirages and the real Ahsoka shifting back and forth to make Takane lose track of the real one. A shadow spear shot out, hitting one of the Illusion _Bunshin _and causing it to vanish. Takane took a swing at one of the two, only for her chop to hit air, the _Bunshin _vanishing just in time for the real Ahsoka's kick to slam into Takane's midsection. Ahsoka pressed her attack, using an unarmed version of her lightsaber combat style, landing several quick and punishing blows on the blond. She finished by dropping to her hands, reaching up and grabbing Takane's neck with her feet, and throwing her over, the blond landing head-first several feet away.

As Ahsoka dropped to the ground and then jumped to her feet, making sure that her hood was still up, a pulse of powerful magical energy came from Takane, who clapped her palms together and held them in a praying position as she focused her magical energy (working to trick magic-ignorant onlookers into thinking it was a ninja technique by using the spell's Japanese name):

"_Kuchiyose: Kokui no Yasōkyoku_!"

A huge shadow familiar sprang into existence behind Takane, a few of its tendrils snaking around and in front of her, forming a very potent defense. Takane sneered as she showed off her trump card: _Nocturna Nigredinis_, the most powerful close-combat technique in all of shadow-type magic.

"What…" Teana said. "What is this? _Susanō _lite?"

"Sorta" Takahata replied. "The _Nocturna Nigredinis _is, like the _Susanō _mentioned in Hatake-san's notes, a powerful defense & offensive summon, which supposedly provides an 'ultimate defense'. However, Takane's summon is inferior to the _Mangekyō_'s ultimate jutsu; its defense _can _be broken through by sufficient force, but more importantly it will only respond to overtly hostile actions by the enemy or to the user's overt will to attack. Lastly, it does not shield the entirety of the user's body simultaneously; a sufficiently-fast attack directed at an exposed point will hit the user before the _Nocturna Nigredinis _can react."

Ahsoka was quickly figuring out the same thing; she noticed how the summon only attacked when Takane moved her hands a certain way, or whenever Ahsoka launched an attack. She noticed how when she got close, the familiar remained dormant until the moment she attacked. It didn't take long for Ahsoka to think up a plan. She went through a few hand seals.

"_Raiton Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

Two masses of lightning chakra formed and then coalesced into the shape of Ahsoka, and then dashed forward. As they leapt up, attacking from above, Takane's summon struck, smashing them aside… and being stunned by them as they dispersed into lightning energy. The real Ahsoka took the chance to flash-step forward, landing directly in front of Takane. She reached out, grabbing hold of the front of Takane's dress; Takane's eyes widened in horror as she realized what was happening.

The point-blank Light-element _Sagitta Magica _shot blasted Takane, and she slowly began to fall forward, her summon disappearing… along with something else. Three seconds after the 10 count reached its end, Takane opened her eyes, realizing that she was being held up by Ahsoka. And then she realized that it felt more than a little drafty. She looked down. Her shadow-magic clothes had disappeared; she was naked as the day she was born. _In front of hundreds of people_.

"KYAAAAAAAA!-!-!-!-!"

Several seconds later, clad in Negi's robe (which was too small for her, which meant that she was still _way _more exposed than tolerable), Takane ran off the stage and into privacy as fast as she could.

"Sorry!" Ahsoka called out to the girl as she ran.

"Well…" Kazumi said. "I guess that, after teaching Takane-san the hard way not to rely on clothes that require consciousness, 'Aka' will advance to the second round!"

Ahsoka walked back to the group, to find Haruna still laughing her ass off. Asuna would've told her to stop, but she was too busy stifling her own giggles. Negi had already donned his spare robe.

**-**_**SCENE SKIP**_**-**

The groups watched as Asuna and Setsuna continued to lock 'blades' while in those ridiculous (yet strangely alluring) get-ups. The match between Negi and Takahata-sensei had been quite exciting… though Ayaka had almost fainted more than once upon seeing her little sensei being so seriously injured. Teana had been more than a little dumbfounded upon learning of _Kankahō_, the fusion of magical energy and chakra that gave Takahata such extraordinary power. Whatever it was, her _Sharingan _was unable to copy it. Negi's crater-making finisher had been pretty epic, too, all things considered. Now they'd seen as Asuna displayed abilities that surprised everyone.

Now, Asuna's footing slipped as she dodged a swing from Setsuna, and the back of her head hit the arena floor. A memory flashed through her mind.

_A forest_

'_Yo, Takamichi… can you give me a light_? _This is… my last smoke._'

'_Master…_'

_Blood. So much blood._

'_Now, go on. I'll manage here somehow. …What's that, young lady? Are you actually crying? Showin' your tears… that's a first. …I'm glad._'

'_Master…_'

'_Takamichi… about her memories… seal up the ones about me, will ya?_'

'_Wh-what are you talking about, Master?-!_'

'_She won't be needin' 'em from now on._'

'_No… Nagi-san is… gone… now uncle too… no…_'

'_Live a happy life, young lady. You have that right._'

'_No… Please, no! Gateau-san! DON'T DIE!-!-!_'

Setsuna stared in shock as Asuna's _harisen _flashed, being replaced by a humongous greatsword that cut through the handle of the broom she currently wielded. Asuna's eyes held unshed tears, and a look of inexplicable rage was in them, the pupils shrunken.

"Holy shit!"

"What in the name of-"

"Asuna?-!"

Setsuna leapt back, and Asuna got to her feet, a dark aura surrounding her. She charged forth in a silent rage, making strikes that would've been fatal had Setsuna not dodged them. However, Setsuna saw an opening.

"_Ukigumo: Tsumuji Issen!_"

Setsuna took the berserk Asuna's momentum and turned it against her, sending her into a violent flipping spin. The sword came free and landed on the floor with a _clang_, turning back into its _harisen _form, as Asuna spun through the air and landed head-first on the ground. After 10 seconds, she did not get back up.

"Regardless of whether or not that humongous sword counted as a disqualifiable offense, Asuna-san has failed to get back up after 10 seconds, so Setsuna-san wins the match and will advance to the second round!"

Setsuna walked over to her fallen student.

"Ow…" Asuna said, back to normal and rubbing her head. "What… what happened?"

"You went into some sort of berserk state" Setsuna replied honestly. "It looked like you had no control of yourself. Your fan turned into a sword longer than you are tall, and you tried to kill me."

"I… oh my God, Secchan, I'm sorry!"

"It's okay. You weren't yourself. Besides, I managed to KO you. Sorry to say, but you were out for the 10-count."

Setsuna helped Asuna to her feet, gathering the girl's discarded _harisen _and walking her off the field. On the other side of the field, Evangeline slumped in relief. After she gathered herself, she turned to 'Sanders' triumphantly.

"Ha! Well, how's _that_?-! It doesn't matter whether this is a bet or not, it's foolish to think you could win against me!"

"Well, I'm also just satisfied with watching you panic like that after so long"

"Wha… _YOU BASTARD! _That was your plan all along, wasn't it?-!" She leapt onto 'Sanders', bracing her feet on his chest as she grabbed hold of his cloak and screamed at him up-close.

"I would have given you the information even without the bet."

"You son of a bitch! You did this just to fuck with me?-!"

"Language, my dear" he said as he physically pulled her off and held her at arm's length. "Not very becoming for one as high stature as you."

"Hey! Let go of me, damnit! Where is that intel?-!"

"Well, we have some catching up to do, so maybe after the festival…"

"Stop screwing around!"

"You've already waited 15 years; what's two or three more days?"

"…Shut up…"

"Alright, I'll tell you the conclusion." His face grew serious "…Nagi Springfield is alive. But… the day may never come that you see him again."

Before Evangeline could respond, Kazumi's voice rang out over the speakers.

"Will the two competitors of Round 1's final match please come up to the stage?"

With that, Evangeline completely forgot about her current hatred of Albireo, as her mind shifted to her hatred of another… one that she was about to fight. She, uncharacteristically silently, calmly walked onto the stage, the roiling storm of emotion within her being expertly concealed. On the other side, the old man in his dark blue suit calmly walked up onto the stage, his body brimming with his unique form of magical power. He smiled warmly at Evangeline; Eva made no reaction, no move, no words, just stared coldly at him.

"Okay, for the final match of Round 2, to decide who goes on to face Setsuna-san in Round 2, we have two competitors known for possessing power and skill that belies their eccentricities. One on side, we have the ever-calm Dean of Engineering at Mahora College, the Immovable Object, the Calm in the Storm, Sebastian von Klaus! On the other side, we have the Disciple of Dark Tones, the Icy Fury, the Twilight-Walker, Evangeline McDowell!"

"Word has it that there's some bad blood between these two" Mr. Commentator said.

"One-sided, but yes" Chachamaru replied over the speakers. "Klaus-san likes Master, but Master _hates _Klaus-san. I must admit; I do not know what she will do with this chance."

'Come now' Klaus thought. 'Hates me? I wouldn't go that far. I irk her, and she tosses those threats out, but I merely work to show her the locked-away light in her heart.'

Evangeline was like a stone; the rise and fall of her breathing was nearly indistinguishable, and it almost looked like she wasn't blinking. If one looked closely, one could see a slight ripple in the air immediately surrounding her. Teana and Ahsoka noticed, and extended their senses… and felt as if they had been physically struck by the sheer, raw amount of killing intent radiating from Evangeline. They turned to each other.

"This… could be bad…" Teana said.

"Ready…"

Klaus expected one or a few of several things. He expected a snarky taunt. He expected a (doomed to fail) attempt to psychoanalyze him like Eva-chan did to many of her opponents.

"Set…"

He expected perhaps a head-on charge, or a usage of her combat strings. Honestly, he expected her to do what she usually did: take the anger she had at herself and ineffectually lash out at him with it.

*STARTING BELL SOUND*

He did not expect what she did.

The split-second after the bell rang, Evangeline's arms flew into motion… forming hand-seals.

"_Suiton: Suigadan_!"

Klaus stared in shock as several tendrils of water shot out from the moat bordering the arena's north edge, spiraling through the air toward him at high speed. He narrowly dodged, and the rapidly-spinning jets of water punched/drilled down into and through the arena floor.

'How did she do that?' Klaus thought. 'The curse should've… wait. …The _Infernus Scholasticus _only seals her magic; it doesn't affect chakra! But that shouldn't be an issue; she never learned chakra-based techniques. When did… the newcomers! She must've gained access to their scrolls!'

Evangeline made several more seals, and then thrusted her hands forward.

"_Fūton: Kami Oroshi_!"

A focused vortex of wind shot forth toward Klaus, and he barely managed to get out of the way as it tore past him; it clipped him on its way, shredding the left arm of his suit.

"_Suiton: Suikōdan_!"

A huge shark-shaped mass of water flew at Klaus, and this time he couldn't dodge. He called up a shield spell, using it to block the attack, but his arm shook from the effort. The leftover water flew through the air, hovering around Evangeline. She made a few hand-seals, and it froze into 100 _senbon _of ice.

"_Hyōton: Hyakusatsu Hyōsho_!"

The ice-needles shot at Klaus with great speed. A few got through his defenses, stabbing into the flesh of his arms and legs, while the rest shattered upon impact with a shield he threw out. He quickly pulled the few stuck in him out, ignoring the bit of blood. Something wasn't right. That attack could have been lethal. In fact… _all _of her attacks so far were potentially-lethal ones.

'This can't be right' he thought. 'She wouldn't actually try to kill me, would she?'

She flash-stepped toward him, wielding an ice spike in a reverse grip, and he barely managed to block and catch her attack. Then he looked into her eyes, and beheld a darkness and fury that actually frightened him. Klaus extended his legilimency, peering into Evangeline's mind and heart… and was horror-struck. There was no competitive spirit. No desire to test his power in an honorable duel on the field. No annoyance and acceptance toward him cloaked in irritability and anger like he suspected.

There was only ice-cold hatred and white-hot rage, and the desire for bloodshed. She wasn't just fighting him. She truly, deeply hated him. And she was trying to kill him.

'How did this happen?' Klaus thought. 'How could she… I only worked to help her break free of the walls she has built around her heart; to free the light within her darkness. How could this have made her hate me so? How did it come to this?'

Unfortunately for him, Evangeline felt the intrusion into her mind, and this just made her angrier. A growl, too low to have been made by _any _human, much less a small girl, came from her throat. She lashed out with a chakra-charged kick, and the impact nearly broke Klaus' ribs. Thinking fast, he grabbed her by the arms and physically threw her across the ring; she landed on her feet effortlessly. She then pulled out a scroll, sliced a finger on one of her teeth, and ran it across the scroll. She then slammed the blooded scroll down onto the ground. The ground began to rumble, and walls of rock suddenly shot up around the arena ring, soon forming a square wall 10 feet high that surrounded the ring. Evangeline then made another sequence of hand-seals, rearing back and shouting the next technique:

"_Suiton: Bakusui Shōha_!"

She slammed her palms into the ground, and gallons upon gallons of water sprang into existence, quickly filling the boxed-in arena until the water was around seven feet deep. Overhead cameras connected to holographic big-screens allowed everyone to watch the fight, regardless of the earthen obstruction. Both combatants stood upon the water's surface, Klaus' confused and hurt eyes meeting Evangeline's… and noticing that the irises of her eyes had turned gold. A pitch-black aura came into view, surrounding Evangeline, as she embraced her rage and hatred, and willingly brought forth the darkness of her Heart.

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLE MUSIC!

OPTION 1: _Naruto Shippūden _OST 2 – "Kakuzu"

OPTION 2: _Kingdom Hearts II _OST – "The 13th Dilemma"

OPTION 3: _Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep _OST– "Extreme Encounters"

WHICHEVER ONE YOU, THE READER, THINK FITS BEST, LISTEN TO IT OR IMAGINE IT DURING THIS FIGHT

Evangeline made a few hands seals and then thrusted her palms forward.

"_Fūton: Daitoppa_!"

A tremendously powerful gust of wind shot forth, and Klaus struggled to brace himself against it. Before he could regain himself, he felt a vicious hammer-blow to his stomach, and when he reflexively doubled over a mighty kick caught him in the side of the head, sending him tumbling. He leapt away from another punch that would've probably shattered whatever bone it hit, and retreated a bit. He now realized that this was no longer a tournament fight; his opponent would not accept surrender. Klaus would have to knock Evangeline out somehow, or otherwise hold out for 17 more minutes and the judges declared a winner. Or else he would die. He called up his magic, and fired a barrage of 29 Light-element magic arrows.

"_Suiton: Suishōheki_!"

The column of water surrounded Evangeline, protecting her from the shots before returning to the artificial pool they stood on. Eva then made a sequence of hand-seals and pressed a hand down onto the water's surface.

"_Suiton: Goshokuzame_!"

From each of her fingers and her thumb, five bolts total of chakra went into the water, rapidly taking the form of five solid-water sharks, their outlines an unnatural violet due to darkness energy. She then formed more hand-seals, and thrusted her palms at Klaus again.

"_Fūton: Kamaitachi_!"

The slicing wind, charged by Evangeline's darkness, sliced through Klaus' shield and began cutting his flesh. The drops of blood landed in the water, attracting the five water-sharks. One tried to grab hold of his ankle, and he kicked it in the 'face'. He leapt up just as two more tried to chomp down on his legs, launching a barrage of light arrows at the sharks; the two beasts went underwater, using the water around them to patch up the damage they took. Klaus landed, and noticed that the water around Evangeline was becoming even more turbulent, and that she was flashing through a complex sequence of seals.

"_Suiton: Suiryūdan_!"

An enormous dragon of water sprang forth from the waters, roaring and charging at Klaus. He raised a double-stacked shield, and the dragon smashed into it with bone-crunching force, shattering the first layer almost instantly. The second, stronger layer held for a little while longer, but it too shattered, and the last few seconds of the attack hit Klaus directly, and the old man felt as a few ribs were cracked. And then Evangeline was in front of him again, and her fist was in his face, and he was tumbling end over end through the air.

Over the next six minutes, the spectators watched – first in excitement, then in surprise, then in nervousness and a little fear – as Evangeline put Klaus through the wringer, effortlessly shrugging off his binds and attacks, and hitting him mercilessly. Eventually, everyone watching realized that the girl was fighting for real… _too _for real to be just a tournament match.

"Shit…" Mr. Commentator said. "Is she actually tryin' to _kill _him?"

"Sadly, I believe so" Chachamaru said, worried that her Mistress might succumb to the darkness.

Klaus stood on the surface of the water. He was panting for breath, his suit was in bad condition, and several wounds marked his body.

Evangeline growled, as she then formed a Shadow Clone. The _Kage Bunshin_ began charging wind chakra, while Evangeline gathered water chakra, both of them lacing it with darkness. After several seconds they fired together, a huge swirling column of water focused & pressurized by wind chakra, giving it extraordinary strength, speed, and destructive power. Klaus managed to partially dodge it, but he still took a great deal of the attack. The attack kept going, smashing into the rock wall and busting through it. The water rapidly began to pour out of the arena, quickly evaporating as Evangeline willed it to. The rock slabs lowered back into the ground.

Klaus stood, barely capable of standing, and gasping desperately for breath. His last-second shield spell had saved him from instant death, but the force absorbed had left him quite drained. Evangeline glared and growled.

"We end this" she said lowly, and formed a three-seal sequence before then grabbing hold of her right wrist with her left hand and holding her right hand down. After a few seconds, chakra began to build, and Teana gasped as she recognized it.

"That's Sasuke's and Kakashi's technique!"

Evangeline's head was lowered, meaning that her vicious stare at Klaus looked even scarier as the bluish-white chakra gathered in her hand in the form of lightning. A pulse of energy came from her, and the lightning chakra turned violet. The sclera of her eyes turned black, and her gold irises glowed lightly with dark power, her rage fueling her strength.

"Revenge…" she spoke with a growled tone. "For everything you've done to me. …_Zettai ni yurusanai_…"

The attack finished formation, a violent mass of violet chakra in her hand. And then she _moved_. The tiles beneath her feet shattered as she pushed off, charging toward Klaus.

"NOW…"

Klaus used the last of his strength, calling forth a complex seven-layer shield between him and her.

"_YOU_…"

Evangeline flared her dark aura, and with her speed she smashed clean through the first four shields like they weren't even there. The energy in her hand gave off a horrible screech.

"_**DIE!-!-!**_"

There was a massive bang and a bright flash, and a dust cloud kicked up.

"Damn it…"

The dust faded, revealing what had happened… and horror filled the stands.

"Those last two shields… I was aiming for your heart."

Ako had gone worryingly pale at what she now saw. Negi, not expecting his master to have snapped so badly, began shaking lightly.

Sebastian von Klaus stood, twitching and staring at the blond head below him in horrified disbelief. Evangeline's electrified hand had punched clean through his left shoulder; a spray of blood and bone fragments was behind him, and his blood ran down Evangeline's arm. People in the stands began to murmur fearfully and in disbelief.

And then Evangeline jerked her hand upward with great speed and force, completely severing Klaus' left arm. Time seemed to flow in slow motion, as a horrible silence descended upon the arena. And then his detached arm hit the ground, and people began to scream. Ako fainted; Fumika joined her in this action. Evangeline leapt back, landing on the other end of the arena.

"I…" one of the judges spoke with a shaking voice. "I suppose… th-that this means that… Klaus-san is unable to continue fighting, so… as per the rules of the tournament, I… h-hereby declare Evangeline the wi-"

Another _Chidori _sprang into existence in Evangeline's palm. People began panicking again, now realizing that she still wasn't satisfied with 'just' maiming Klaus.

"Eva-san! Stop!" Kazumi cried out in a panic. "The match is over! You win! _Stop!-!_"

Evangeline did not heed the young woman's words. She snarled and took off, sprinting toward Klaus again. Several people began to scream and/or weep, realizing that they were about to watch a man die horribly.

And then a white-robed figure suddenly appeared 10 feet in front of Klaus, less than two seconds in front of the charging Evangeline. His hood was down, revealing dark-purple hair in a ponytail, his ever-shut eyes now wide open, a deadly serious look on his face. Albireo raised his palm, pointing it at Evangeline.

"_Shinra Tensei_"

The solid wall of gravity slammed into Evangeline, cutting off her charge and sending her careening backward, tumbling through the air like a rag doll. Her Dark Chidori dispersed, her concentration ruined by the sudden attack. She glared at the man, the ground beneath her cracking from her aura.

"_**Don't interfere**_" she snarled out.

"Your anger is justified," Albireo stated, "but I will not allow you to kill this man."

Amongst the mages watching the events unfold, the true identity of 'Ku-Nel Sanders' was now very much apparent, as they recognized the famous figure.

"Holy crap…" Setsuna said. "It's Albireo Imma!"

The name was muttered amongst several of the spectators, shocked that such a legendary hero was right here in front of them.

"Who?" Marie asked.

"Albireo Imma" Chamo said. "He's a member of Ala Rubra, Nagi Springfield's team of elite super-mage heroes."

"A companion of my father's?" Negi questioned. "But what's he doing here?"

Chachamaru ran onto the stage. "Master, please calm down!" she pleaded. "The fight is over! You've shown Klaus the strength of your hatred already! Don't let it consume you! Negi-kun is watching! Do you really want him to see you like this?"

At the mention of her apprentice, Evangeline's eyes widened slightly… and the sclera returned to natural white. The black aura surrounding her disappeared, and her irises returned to their normal blue. There was a thud behind Albireo as Klaus collapsed unconscious from shock and blood loss. A team of elite medics rushed in immediately with heavy-duty life-support gear, calling for a MEDEVAC. They placed the man on a stretcher, one of the medics, a mage, carefully gathering up the severed arm. He looked at the torn end and at Klaus' mangled shoulder, and sighed sadly. The damage was too catastrophic; there was no way, magic or not, that the arm could possibly be reattached. Klaus was now crippled.

Evangeline walked down off the stage with frightening calm, passing by Team Negi. She looked lazily at them, her eyes currently dull and weary as she looked at the various pale and shaken faces of those looking at her. She turned and walked away, gazing down at the blood that covered her hand and arm. And she smirked.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Next chapter is the rest of the tournament (or maybe part of it, depending on how long it is)


	5. Budokai 2 Skill and Friendship

RANDOM REMINDER: In my fics, _ki, qi, chi, _and _chakra _are all the same thing

Again, I suck at fight-scenes more often than not, so there will be a lot of "detailed start, detailed finish, everything else vague and alluded to" in these fights. If you want better, go read the fics of people who are better fight-scene writers than I am.

And before anyone reads near the opening and says anything: Shion and Mai _are _a couple, but Shion still loves Satoshi. It's just that she also loves Mai. She's thinkin' _saishōdōkin_.

And in case this chapter doesn't make it abundantly clear, Haruna is bisexual and proud of it.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mahora Academy**

**Tournament Arena**

**June 21****st****, 2011**

"Okay…" Kazumi said over the speakers. "Now that the clean-up crews have… gotten the blood off the arena… how's about we get started with Round 2 of the tournament? For those still nervous or squeamish, don't worry; we have been informed that Mr. von Klaus was the _only _person in this tournament that Evangeline wanted dead; with him out of sight and out of mind, we likely won't be seeing any corpses. Oh, and speaking of which: we have received word that von Klaus is in Mahora Hospital's ICU _but _he is stable and he _will _live, though the damage done to his shoulder is too severe for his left arm to be reattached."

Several spectators who were part of the Engineering department of Mahora College sighed in relief that their comrade/friend would survive.

"Now, let's get things rolling again! For our first match, both of our combatants passed their respective first-round matches with a single blow each! In one corner: the chivalrous warhound, the Black Wolf Fang, Kotarō Inugami! In the other corner: the crafty, Cheshire-cat-grinning man who is _far _more than he appears, the man whose timely actions prevented us all from having to watch a bloody murder, the Gravity Master, Albireo Imma!"

Al sighed as the people cheered him. His little stunt in stopping Eva-chan from killing Klaus had blown any cover he once had, but most of the people here were mundanes, and those who did know who he was couldn't really go about telling people just why he was famous. Across the stage, Kotarō tried not to show his nervousness. This guy was a member of Ala Rubra – an S-ranker, at the very least. Plus, he could manipulate gravitational forces for combat; such an ability was extremely rare, and thus Kotarō had no knowledge of how to effectively counter it. On top of that, he'd blasted away an enraged, darkness-charged, super-speed Evangeline with a single technique, with little effort. Kotarō was brave, but he wasn't stupid; he knew he would likely lose this match.

"Yo, Kotarō-kun!"

The boy turned to the voice in the crowd, spotting Shion (who had one arm wrapped around the waist of Mai, who was sitting happily in Shion's lap; a few couples near them – straight and not – had chosen to follow their example).

"If you lose here, don't worry! We'll set up a private match between you and Negi-kun as soon as you and he have both recovered from the tournament!"

"It doesn't have to be private" Kazumi said over the speakers. "If Negi and Kotarō don't end up facing each other in the actual tournament, a match between them later on in the festival would make an excellent exhibition match! How's that sound, folks?"

Many in the crowd shouted their agreement.

"Hear that, Kotarō-kun? Don't worry!"

Kotarō closed his eyes for several seconds, and then looked at Albireo, a determined look in his eyes. He began to focus his energy, as Albireo just stood there calmly. The starting bell rang, and Kotarō immediately thrusted both hands forward, several black energy bolts shooting forth.

"_Shikkū Kokurōga_!"

Albireo narrowly dodged the bolts of shadowy energy, which tore up the ring where they hit the ground. Kotarō then formed a familiar hand-seal.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

Five Shadow Clones of Kotarō came into existence, and they & he charged ahead, spreading out and mingling in an attempt to throw off any attempt of Albireo's to track the original. One flash-stepped behind Albireo, meaning to him with a point-blank _Kūga_… and was dispersed by a concentrated sphere of gravity slamming into its head, Albireo having shot it from a fingertip like a bullet without even looking at the Shadow-Clone. Kotarō began spinning rapidly, flying at Albireo like a large drill.

"_Tsūga_!"

Albireo dodged the spinning attack, and then was forced to take several evasive actions as the directed whirlwind that was Kotarō pursued him for several more seconds before breaking off, stopping his spin and flipping away. Two of his clones tried to tackle Albireo from different directions, but Albireo extended his arms outward, pointing his palms at them, and a pulse of gravity emitted out from him, slamming into the shadow clones and dispersing them. He then extended a palm toward the other two shadow clones.

"_Banshō Ten'in_"

A small black sphere formed in front of his palm, and the two Shadow Clones managed to fight off the sudden attractive force for a few seconds before they were yanked off their feet and pulled through the air toward Albireo. A single wide kick dispelled both of them. Kotarō charged, gathering chakra in both hands.

"_Rōga Sōshōda_!"

He flash-stepped in, and Albireo dodged by moving in ways that a human shouldn't move, leaving the attack to smash into the ground, kicking up a dust cloud. Temporarily blinded, Kotarō was hit full-force by a blast of gravitational energy that rocketed him into the air, landing several seconds later with a crash.

Kotarō struggled to his feet. That one attack had done more damage to him than any single blow he'd been hit with since that one lightning spell Negi had finished him off with back in Kyōto. He began to focus his chakra, starting his transformation.

Unfortunately, Albireo saw what he was doing and moved much faster than Kotarō could anticipate. He looked up just in time for Albireo, hovering four feet above his head, to slam him into the ground with a _Shinra Tensei_. Kotarō was knocked unconscious instantaneously. Needless to say, he did not get back up on his feet after 10 seconds.

"And Albireo-san advances to the semi-finals!"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

10 minutes later, everyone settled in to watch the next match. Chizuru held a bandaged Kotarō in her lap, mostly to keep the prideful preteen from running off to hide after his defeat, as well as to make sure he didn't do anything to aggravate his injuries. He got a nice pillow to lean against out of the deal, though he wasn't sure about being seen using it in public; Chizuru solved that issue by physically pulling him back against her, hugging him close with his head nestled between two very comfy objects yet still allowing him a clear view of the stage for the rest of the matches.

Kaede Nagase and Teana stepped up onto the ring from either side, walking up to each other and shaking hands in a show of courtesy.

"Let's give the people something to focus on other than the two lopsided beatdowns that came previously, shall we?" Kaede said.

"Right" Teana replied. "They've been scared enough. Let's give 'em a hell of a show."

They moved apart a ways, so that each of them was halfway between their edge of the arena and the arena's center. After several seconds, the starting bell rang. Kaede struck first, firing off a technique she'd practiced so much that, more often than not, she only needed to make one hand-seal to use it.

"_Katon: Renzoku Kakyū_!"

A half-dozen two-foot-wide fireballs shot forth toward Teana (rate of fire about… 5.5 per second). Teana narrowly dodged the shots with a grace that looked a tad out-of-place compared to her usual quick-and-dirty "economy of movement". Kaede smirked upon realizing that the shorter-yet-older girl was showing off for the crowd. Teana formed a Crossfire Shot sphere in her palm, and then pitched it like a baseball, giving it far more velocity than it would normally have; with her Spartan strength backing it up, the magical projectile put any major-league pitcher to shame. Kaede barely dodged it, feeling the heat as it shot past her face and went on to smash into – and through – the wooden base of the spectators' stands. She retaliated.

"_Katon: Hōsenka_!"

The Phoenix Sage Technique fireballs from both girls smashed into each other, the attacks completely cancelling each other out. Kaede called forth four Shadow Clones, and they leapt into the air and prepared to dog-pile/dive-bomb Teana. Teana merely made a few hand-seals, looked up at them, and then swept her head quickly from left to right while exhaling.

"_Fūton: Shinkūha_!"

The focused blade of wind sliced into and through all of the Shadow Clones at once, causing them to disperse in four simultaneous puffs of smoke.

"Not bad" Kaede remarked, and then charged in, calling forth five more _Kage Bunshin_. Two attacked Teana directly, keeping her busy just long enough for the original and the other three to get in position. Just as Teana dispatched the second Shadow Clone, she noticed as Kaede and her other three clones had surrounded her. Before she could react, they dashed toward her from four directions. She struggled not to cry out as the attack hit home, the chakra and the physical blows assailing her and ripping an 'X' into the ground.

"_Yotsumi Bunshin Oboro Jūji_!"

The Shadow Clones dispersed, and Kaede leapt back several meters. Teana pulled herself to her feet, wincing.

"Ow, my everything. Yeah, I'm probably gonna be feelin' that tomorrow…" she said.

"So…" Kaede replied. "Feel like quittin' yet?"

"Hell, no"

"Good"

Teana stomped a foot down hard, and in response a Midchildan magic circle flared to life around her, overlapped by a Vetus magic circle. Several points of light faded into existence in the air surrounding Teana – an equal mix of Crossfire Shot projectiles and Fire-type _Sagitta Magica _shots. She waved her hand foreword, and all of the projectiles shot toward Kaede, spreading out so as to come in at her from multiple directions. Kaede dodged some, but the rest hit home. She emerged from the dust cloud, visibly injured, and smirked.

The fight went on for at least 15 minutes; tiles were shattered, and fireballs, wind blasts, and bolts of magic & _ki_/chakra flew about. The two combatants now stood facing each other; both were battered, bruised, and bloodied, and panting for breath.

"Shall we?" Teana asked.

Kaede nodded, and began charging chakra into her hand. Teana took the power of Phantom Blazer, what long ago was her most powerful attack, and held it in her clenched fist. Both girls charged toward each other; Teana's hand was hidden in a bright orange glow, while the fire-type chakra in Kaede's fist formed into a bird of prey.

"Blazer Fist!-!"

"_Hayabusa-Ken_!-!"

The force of the two attacks detonating shook the earth, as both attacks hit home. A cloud of dust was kicked up, partially obscuring the two. After it faded, both of them stood still, hunched over and obviously on empty. Kaede had an arm wrapped around her torso; that blow had definitely cracked a few ribs, and she actually felt sore all over; even set to non-lethal, properly-powerful Midchildan Shooting magic packed a hell of a punch… especially if it's been packed _into _a punch. Much of Teana's shirt had literally been burned away, leaving her considerable assets scarcely covered; a first-degree burn marred her stomach. Both of them stumbled forward. Kaede caught herself. Teana didn't. The redhead hit the ground with a _thud_, barely managing to use an arm to ensure that she didn't land face-first. The 10-count started. Teana tried to get up, willing her legs to move, but they only scraped along the floor, her body too weakened to push itself up at the moment. At the count of '6', she stopped bothering, laying there and looking at the ground in front of her through half-lidded eyes.

"10! Kaede Nagase advances to the semifinals!"

And Kaede keeled over backward, lying splayed out on the ground and looking up at the sky.

"Epic match!"

"Cross Counter!"

"_Yosh! Hayabusa-taichō_!"

Medics came out to tend to the two, Marie running out to help support Teana.

"Epic Final Smash, boss" she said. "You really showed her yo' moves."

"Ha. Funny." Teana replied weakly, still conscious enough to be sarcastic.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The next two contestants walked up onto the stage. Kaede Nagase and Teana sat with the spectators of Team Negi, while Kaede Fuyō and Mai, respectively, used what medical _ninjutsu _they could to patch the two up. (Ironic that the two members of Gamma Team who have healing factors are the ones who are trained in medical _jutsu_ and healing spells)

Negi and Ahsoka walked up onto the stage from either side, the Togrutan teen absent-mindedly reaching up to ensure that her cloak was still up.

"You know, you don't have to keep checking" Negi said. "It's enchanted so that the only way for it to go down is if someone physically grabs hold and pulls it down."

"Right" she replied. "Just a… force of habit, really."

He gave one of his usual innocent smiles; she blushed lightly at the sight, and then shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"Alright, folks! Time for our next match! As we've seen, both combatants excel at lightning-based attacks. Let's see who calls down the thunder, and who has to reap the whirlwind!"

After several seconds, the starting bell rang. The two immediately sprung into action, charging into close combat. Ahsoka struck with a right cross, which Negi caught and responded to with a kick aimed for her side, and she Force-jumped over him, landing directly behind him and trying to catch him in the back of the head with a spinning arm-strike. He ducked and rolled under the strike, hitting her in the stomach with a rising palm thrust. He tried to follow through with an overhead strike, but even though she had reflexively doubled over she still managed to shift to the side just enough to dodge and lash out with a kick to the chest, sending Negi backward.

Negi charged again, and Ahsoka tried to again leap over him. She couldn't quite clear him in time, and he grabbed hold of her ankle and tried to slam her into the ground… but his footing slipped, and she landed on top of him, both of them on the ground in a pose bearing quite the resemblance to a certain position named after a certain two-digit number that was next to 70, her skirt ridden up upon landing. Several in the crowd gasped and blushed; Ayaka nearly had a coronary, while Haruna and Chamo let out a 'WOO!' and Marie bust up laughing. Negi noticed the weight on top of him and opened his eyes.

'_Black. Silk. A teensy bit of lace._'

Ahsoka quickly opened her eyes, realized exactly what was less than an inch from her head, blushed, noticed a draft, realized that the draft meant that _the boy she has a crush on has his face only a few inches from her panties and his head between her legs and caught in her skirt and she's laying on top of him_, and then screamed and went beet-red, rolling off of him and forcing her skirt down to its normal position with both hands, sitting on her knees and staring at him while blushing rather deeply. Negi, also noticeably red (though not quite as red as after the incident with Setsuna in Kyōto when they were trying to stop Konoka being kidnapped by monkey summons, which was when Negi, after Setsuna fell on top of him while both he and her were nude, got an up-close look at what it looks like _without _any panties obscuring the view), got back to his feet and dusted himself off, walking over and offering a hand; she shyly took it and allowed him to help her to her feet.

"R-right, so…" the boy said. "H-how about we… we say that didn't just happen and get on with the match, eh?"

Ahsoka nodded, still not quite able to properly speak yet, and then dropped into a fighting stance. Negi leapt back, and after a few seconds he fired a barrage of Lightning-type magic arrows. Ahsoka focused and, just as they neared her, send out a solid pulse of Force radiating outward from her, deflecting them. She then 'fired' from her palm a concussive sphere of Force infused with electrical energy. Negi dodged it by about a foot; the Force bolt's electrical charge caused the hair on the left side of his head to briefly stand on end. He responded with a burst of focused wind magic. Ahsoka had to use chakra to anchor her feet to the ground, and while her eyes were still instinctively closed Negi rushed in, preparing a heavy kick… which, alerted by the Force, Ahsoka raised her own leg to block. Negi could not respond in time to avoid a point-blank Force Push that send him tumbling through the air, somehow managing to land on his feet several meters away.

Ahsoka fired a barrage of lightning arrows, only for Negi to respond with another burst of wind; the elemental type advantage meant that the wind dissipated most of the arrows and sent the rest off-course. Both of them flash-stepped toward each other, and their punches collided in mid-ring, sending a small shockwave out. They continued their close-combat fight, blocking and dodging and in rare cases hitting. After about a minute, they cross-countered, each one's punch hitting the other's face, sending both reeling. They recovered, and launched a series of light-type arrows at each other. Most were dodged, but a few of Ahsoka's outer shots and Negi's central ones impacted their respective targets.

"_Rairyōken no Jutsu_!"

From the dust cloud obscuring Ahsoka came two lightning hounds, racing toward Negi. Negi threw out a low-power _Dios Tukos _at them, but only hit one of them, the other dodging and continuing its charge. It hit, and Negi tried not to scream out as the lightning chakra coursed through his body. Ahsoka's confident smirk was wiped off her face when the six-arrows-in-one bolt of light magic came in from behind. As she staggered from the blow, she remembered how _Sagitta Magica _could be mentally controlled far beyond its normal homing capabilities if the user chose to do so, and that multiple bolts could be combined, trading versatility and accuracy for power.

The match continued for around 10 minutes with no clear advantage for either fighter. Several attacks – most of them lightning-based – flew about, and dozens of physical blows were exchanged. Now, both fighters stood panting for breath, covered in various wounds (most of them insignificant, but still…). Ahsoka made a quick hand-seal pattern that was recognized by most observers, though thankfully the energy stayed a bluish-white rather than shifting to violet. Negi, meanwhile, formed several Lightning-type _Sagitta Magica _bursts and focused them into his right fist and lower arm. They charged toward each other, meeting in the center of the arena and smashing their attacks forward.

"_Chidori_!"

"_Raikahōken_!"

Unlike the end of the previous match, this time the two fist-bound attacks hit each other rather than their intended targets. The two combatants struggled, pushing their respective attack into the other one. After several seconds, the clashing energies of magic and chakra reacted violently, creating an explosion that tossed both fighters away, landing on their backs and skidding a few meters. At the count of '4', Negi struggled to his feet.

"That was pretty good, Ahsoka-san" he said.

No response.

"Ahsoka-san?"

"7..."

He limped over, and saw that the girl had been KO'ed by the blast.

"Oh."

"10! Negi-kun advances to the semifinals!"

Shrugging, Negi bent down and picked up the unconscious girl, easily carrying her out of the ring. As they approached the seating area, she stirred, moaning lightly. She opened her eyes, realized Negi was carrying her, and blushed bright red.

"You did really well" Negi said. "I'm almost as worn out as I was after fighting Takamichi."

Ahsoka only nodded, afraid that if she tried to speak, it would come out as a squeak or stutter or something of the sort.

He gently set her down near the seats, and she gave an involuntary squeak when his hand inadvertently slid along her bottom when he put her down; he didn't notice. As he walked over to Kaede (Fuyō) to get patched up a bit, Ahsoka staggered over and sat down. Haruna was giving her one of her 'I can read you like a book' grins, Konoka giggled with a hint of mischievousness, and Teana clandestinely gave her a thumbs-up. She fidgeted, but still managed to smile.

As the cleanup crew got to work repairing the damage to the ring (yet again, though the damage was less than most of the earlier big matches), Haruna followed the cloaked Ahsoka to an otherwise-empty hallway.

"So…" the robed & hooded girl said, "I promised to show you who I am once I was out of the tournament…"

"Hey, yeah, you _did_" replied Haruna, remembering. "I've made a few guesses, though none seem to fit exactly. Asuka Sōryü with a fake-deeper voice, a Diclonius, one of the Digidestined…"

"I never said that my fictional counterpart of this world was from an animé…"

And with that, 'Aka' lowered her hood, revealing her very distinctive features. Haruna had a look of shocked recognition that soon segued into a smile.

"Well… Ahsoka-chan… you actually _were _farther down on my list, though I'm kinda ashamed that I automatically placed Western stuff at the low end of probability."

"Yeah, Teana and the others swung by my universe real quick and picked me up. Well, actually, they actually showed up 20 years after the Republic became the Empire, and their ship had some kind of Precursor device that literally reached out through time and brought me back to life to join them."

"So… how did you die?"

"Order 66. Captain Rex decided to disobey the order, and he & I made a run for it, but his less-independent underlings shot our transport down. The Precursor device brought back me, him, and Commander Cody, who by the way actually _knew _Master Kenobi had survived and kept his troops distracted to give him a chance to escape… and then got blown up by a landmine before he could sneak off Utapau and catch up to him. Oh, and the device that brought us back irreparably burned itself out doing so, so no we can't resurrect anyone else." She sighed sadly. "And yes, I know what became of Master Skywalker…"

Haruna put a hand on her shoulder. "He… did return to the Light in the very end. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. Still… everyone I knew in that realm is dead now. My time with Gamma Team… it's a new life – another chance to help people, this time _without _furthering some Sith Archlord's hidden agenda. I'm grateful for it."

There were several seconds of silence, in which Ahsoka allowed herself to relax, her eyes sliding shut as she leaned against the wall.

"So…" Haruna said. "I noticed you have a crush on Negi-kun?"

Ahsoka's eyes shot open, she blushed deeply, she let out a tiny squeak, and had she not been leaning against a wall she would've fallen over.

"I… uh…"

Haruna gave her signature grin. Ahsoka continued to blush and fidget, trying to talk.

"I… am… am I that obvious?" she whimpered.

Haruna giggled. "Kinda. Actually, someone'd have to be pretty inattentive or naïve _not _to notice it. The way you stare at him, the way your eyes light up and you blush every time he says something to you…"

Ahsoka dearly wished that she could melt into the wall right now.

"Don't worry, though. Negi-kun may be smart, but he's _really _dense when it comes to girls and love. It's certain that he hasn't figured it out. After all, _lots _of girls around here have some interest in him, and the only one he knows about is the one who flat-out told him to his face. I didn't hear much, but an overheard conversation from Takahata-sensei and Shizuna-sensei tells me that he gets it from his mom, who's also really, really smart and serious, just like Negi-kun, but took three years to find out that Nagi-san had feelings for her… and even then he had to spell it out to her."

"You… won't tell him, though, right?"

"Nah! I'll let you decide when he finds out. …When did it start?"

"…About a week ago, I started getting that feeling whenever I was around him, but I didn't realize what it was until… yesterday…" She blushed and smiled at the memory.

"Yesterday? …Oh, yes, _that_. So… how good was it?"

"…Good."

"Good?"

"…_Really _good."

"…Still got that present?"

If it were possible, Ahsoka blushed even deeper. "…Uh-huh" she squeaked out. "I… don't… don't use it that often, really. Maybe… once every four to six nights?"

"That's good! If you do it too often, you might take away some of the long-term enjoyment. Better to let that tension build up over a little while's time, so that when you finally release, it's all the better."

"Can… can we talk about something else, please?"

Haruna laughed. "Sure thing, 'soka-chan!" She put an arm around the shorter girl's shoulder. "Glad to be of… _service_ to you." That last bit was whispered into Ahsoka's ear, causing her to flush and shudder involuntarily, her eyelids briefly fluttering. '_Hee! She's so confident normally, but push the right buttons and she's just like Nodoka! …Hmm, maybe I should get Nodoka a __special toy__, too._'

"Will the two fighters of Round 2's final match please come up to the arena?" Kazumi's voice rang out over the speakers outside.

"Oh, the next match!" Haruna reached up, somehow turning the act of grabbing Ahsoka's hood and sliding it up over the girl's head into an almost-sensual act, running a hand along the girl's cheek as she withdrew it; the robed teen subconsciously leaned into the caress. She grabbed the still-out-of-it girl by the hand and pulled her along back into the main area, having her sit down between her and Nodoka on the padded bench. Setsuna and Evangeline were already walking up toward the arena.

Many people were gazing nervously at Evangeline, and several took notice at the odd, thin, sweeping, curving, red rune-like pattern that ran from the back of her right hand all the way up to her elbow. Some people went pale upon realizing that the rune was 'painted' using Klaus' blood.

"Step on up, Sakurazaki" Evangeline said with a smirk. "I feel like bullying you for a while."

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Next time, the final Round 2 match and everything that comes after.


	6. Budokai 3  Despair and Hope

Here's the last of the Mahora Tournament.

NOTE: In this fic series, polyamory is legal and not at all frowned upon on Mundus Magicus _and _on Midchilda

Taking a little longer than I'd initially hoped, because I'm deliberately spacing out the updates so as to give the _Negima _manga time to progress, so I won't have to make up quite as much stuff when I get farther in. Also I've been _very _distracted by Pokémon White Version and by reading _Yet Again _by Third Fang (hmm… if Ghost Oogakari and Jack Rakan met…).

Stages of Darkness Corruption of One's Heart: BASIC: black aura, irises turn golden-yellow; INTERMEDIATE: sclera turn black, canine teeth lengthen slightly; ADVANCED: hair starts to turn silver with black streets, skin grows paler; TOTAL: Transformation into a Heartless

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**June 21****st**** 2011**

**Mahora Academy Tournament Arena**

"'_Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way_'." Evangeline paused as she looked at Setsuna. "That is from _Anna Karenina _by Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, published from 1873 through 1877. Do you know what it means, Sakurazaki?"

"Um…"

"It means that those who are happy have no story to tell. They're all alike. To be happy is to be boring. You've… been awfully happy lately, haven't you?"

Over in the seats beneath the sun-shades, people watched in wary anticipation, as the fan-loved _moé meido _swordsgirl prepared to fight the young girl who was already being called "Bloodthirster" and "Death Loli". All over the audience seating area, Shion & Mai's seating decision was now emulated; nearly every couple in attendance had one person in the other's lap, and several sibling and pseudo-sibling pairs had followed suit, along with several parent-and-young-child ones. Over in the "contestants and friends" section, Mai was still comfortable in Shion's lap, Chizuru still had Kotarō firmly in place in her lap, Kaede Nagase had gotten in on it and pulled Negi into her lap while convincing a blushing Nodoka to come over and use Negi's lap as a pillow, Ahsoka was now sitting in Haruna's lap, her face a tad red (besides her species' natural color, I mean) as the taller girl hugged her close from behind, and against a wall sitting on the ground Kaede Fuyō held tightly onto Marie from behind, and Marie in turn had convinced Teana to join them, Marie's arms around the redhead's waist holding her close while Kaede had one arm around Marie's midsection and another stretching forward to rest on Teana's tummy; sandwiched between her girlfriend and her 'boss' who she had more than a bit of a little crush on, Marie looked quite content. Teana looked quite comfortable and at ease as well.

The starting bell rang, but the two combatants merely continued to circle each other, Evangeline working to verbally assail Setsuna's heart. This came to an end when Evangeline twitched a finger… and Setsuna's arm jerked. She flicked her finger, and Setsuna went tumbling.

"Telekinesis?-!" Kazumi shouted into the microphone.

"_Kugutsu no Jutsu…_" Teana muttered, activating her Sharingan. "No. Not chakra-based puppetry. I can see actual, physical wires connected between Evangeline's fingers and Setsuna."

"This is my skill as a puppeteer" Evangeline said as she made Setsuna move in ways the human backbone wasn't meant to. "If this wasn't a match, we'd be done here. Things probably wouldn't have gone so easily with the you of before, right? The you of before came from such a sullen position. You were like an unsheathed sword that would cut whoever touches you. And look at you now. What's with this? Reconciling with your 'beloved' _ojō-sama _at Kyōto and playing BFFs with Asuna? What is with that "bathing in happiness and becoming soft" look? Doesn't that make you the same as those annoying, ignorant brats in the class?"

"Am… Am I not allowed to be happy?" Setsuna struggled.

"No; that's not what I'm saying. But… it would be boring. Besides… can you really protect Konoka like this?"

In a flash, Setsuna broke free of the wires and charged Evangeline, who deftly blocked the girl's strike with a folded iron fan.

"That's better… but still not enough!"

Evangeline twisted her arm around Setsuna's weapon, and slammed her into the ground, pressing a thumb hard into Setsuna's upper arm. Setsuna charged again, channeling lightning chakra into her fist… and met a shield spell, hovering in front of Evangeline's outstretched right arm. The blood rune on her arm was faintly glowing.

"Impossible!" Chamo shouted. "How is she using magic?-!"

"The blood…" Shion muttered. "She's using Klaus' blood as a medium!"

Setsuna was sent flying again, and just as she got back up she was met by a palm thrust by Evangeline that knocked her for a loop.

"Ah… _aikijutsu_…" Evangeline sighed. "Since I picked it up from that old man about a century ago, it's come in quite handy."

With a few finger movements, Setsuna was suspended by the arms by wires, holding her in place as Evangeline talked.

"Still, this little body of mine is currently only enough to take on small fry; even with chakra, I probably cannot at the moment handle anyone above A+ class. …Why didn't you use your _Shinmei-ryü _finishers? If you were to use your chakra-fueled attacks, even I would have a tough time. No, you should be able to defeat me even without your finishers. …Too naïve… you're no different from those middle-school brats over there. Looking at you now irritates me… Setsuna… did you really think you could become happy? …Just like me. No… half-ways. Those wings on your back… weren't they white? And the black hair? Dyed? Colored contacts?"

Setsuna was trembling, unshed tears starting to form.

"SHUT THE HELL UP, EVA!-!-!"

Asuna's shout nearly bowled the small girl over.

"One more word and I'll come out there myself and beat the crap outta you!-! I was an idiot to think that you were anything more than a ruthless, heartless bitch!"

As Negi tried to restrain Asuna, Evangeline turned to face Setsuna. She formed a few hand-seals as their eyes met, and both combatants' eyes widened.

"Genjutsu!" Teana called out, her Sharingan detecting the familiar pulse of chakra between the fighters. "Guys!" she called to Negi & Asuna, who were still struggling with each other. "Evangeline's caught Setsuna in a genjutsu!"

Kazumi, hearing Teana's proclamation, spoke into the microphone. "Well, it looks like Evangeline has Setsuna in the grasp of an illusory technique! Maybe they're fighting in some mental world so as to not worry about us getting caught in the crossfire!"

Inside the genjutsu realm, Setsuna stood in the center of a courtyard overlooking an ocean, clad in the traditional battle garb of the _uzoku_ and wielding her sword _Yünagi_.

"White wings…"

Her attention was drawn to Evangeline, hovering overhead.

"…were considered of ill fortune and shunned by your people. It's not hard for one to imagine what your childhood must've been like. And with no parents, you were chased out of the village, with people seeking to end you at the tender age of four, and were picked up by Eishun, who had recently left the Thousand Master and returned to Japan to take over the Konoe main household. Now then, I have prepared this arena just for us. Nobody is watching, so come at me with everything you have. Of course, in this realm I have access to my own full power, so I'll do the same to you."

"E-Evangeline-san… to you I'm probably nothing more than a speck of dust. Why are you doing this?"

"Don't underestimate yourself. You already have a great deal of potential. It's obvious I would regret allowing those talents to diminish by letting you reduce yourself to a mere human."

She formed a blade of magical energy over her right forearm.

"Besides… the feeling of having to carry the burden of unhappiness from as far back as you can remember… I can _sympathize with that_!"

And she charged, swooping down toward Setsuna. There was a huge explosion as the attack was barely dodged, Setsuna being sent flying. Evangeline flash-stepped behind her and spiked her down to the ground.

"Enough talk! Show me everything you've got!"

Setsuna released her wings, halting her uncontrolled flight… only to be slammed down into the waters.

"You said you would protect him, didn't you Setsuna? Trying to protect _anyone _at this level… what a joke!"

She raised her arm, and ice began to collect above her hand.

"Do you hear me, girl? If you lose to me here… relinquish your sword."

She swept her arm down, and the huge sphere of ice began to fall toward Setsuna, who stood on the water.

"My… sword?"

"Yes. Your sword… or your happiness."

The _Malleus Aquilonis _impacted, making a mighty splash. A few seconds later, the ice ball split in half, and Setsuna flew up and out, flying toward Evangeline, who blocked her attack.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Negi, Asuna, & Teana gathered round as Negi began to focus his magical power for the Dream-Viewer spell.

"_Nympha somni, regina maeve, portam aperiens ad se me alliciat_."

In a flash, the three were flying through the air, ignoring the fact that their astral forms were nude in favor of watching the spectacle ahead, with Chachazero and Chamo close behind (Chachazero giggled pervertedly while staring at Negi's butt).

"Master's resort… it looks like a war zone!"

As the five grew closer, they could see that Evangeline had the upper hand.

"You're doing better than expected!" Evangeline said. "It's been over seven minutes! I'm surprised!"

'I… can't win!' "My sword… protecting _ojō-sama _is everything to me! If I don't have this… I won't be able to live! I can't throw it away!"

"Ha! Your everything? Pathetic!" She dashed forward, grabbed Setsuna by the throat, and forced her to the ground, pinning her. "Things like 'dreams' or 'everything' are misunderstandings made by everyone! Even without clinging onto such things, as long as there are the small happiness and pleasures of everyday life, these so-called humans seem to able to live on just fine! _Everybody _will have their dreams broken, betrayed, and stomped upon sooner or later! Knowing that, they can still live on, even if it means they go on to become ordinary, run-of-the-mill adults. But that's not too bad, either. …You can live on like that too, Setsuna."

Setsuna kicked Evangeline away, but the smaller girl righted herself in the air with no trouble.

"The boy has become strong. You and Konoka can just get him to protect you both. Now… _choose_ – sword or happiness. To throw down your sword and live as a mere human would not be so bad for you at this point."

Evangeline began to charge a very large amount of power. Setsuna summoned her Pactio daggers, forming a pyramidal barrier around herself:

"_Shiten Kekkai Dokko-renkaku_!"

Evangeline's arm swept down, and everything went white for a few seconds. The barrier barely held, and Setsuna was left near-exhausted.

'T… There's no way I can win against her. Evangeline-san at her full strength is actually this powerful… and she's not even truly serious. But such irrationality; she tells me to choose with my own strength, yet there's such an overwhelming difference in power between us. Even though we're inside this illusion world, this is no different from having no choices to begin with. Wait… illusion…'

"Setsuna-san!"

Both combatants turned and noticed the observers.

"Negi-sensei? Asuna-san? Teana-san?"

"Don't interfere in this, _children_! This is an official match!" Evangeline again readied her _Encis Exsequens_. "You did well withstanding that last attack, but you will not withstand this next! This is the end, Sakurazaki!"

"…_Shinmei-ryü ōgi… Raimeiken!_"

The two clashing attacks kicked up a huge explosion, stunning the five watchers. As the dust cleared, the two combatants stared each other down.

"Evangeline-san… sword and happiness? Might I choose both?"

"…Both?"

"…Yes. I will neither give up my sword nor my happiness!"

"…What… what nonsense do you speak…"

Evangeline's entire demeanor and aura changed, becoming darker.

"You… INSOLENT BRAT!-! YOU DARE TO ASSUME YOU CAN HAVE BOTH?-!"

"…Yes."

Teana had previously assumed this to be some test of character on Evangeline's part. This assumption flew out the window when a pitch-black aura sprang to life around Evangeline. Her head rose, her face a mask of rage and her irises a golden-yellow. A near-suffocating Killing Intent flooded the area, as light, sweeping runes covered her arms.

'Shit…' Chachazero thought, wide-eyed. 'Master's really snapped. On top of that darkness I can sense corrupting her Heart, to actually use _Magia Erebea _against an ally…'

"No… NO! You do not get that choice! _You do not!-! I will not allow you to have that which I lost!-! UNLESS YOU SACRIFICE ONE OR THE OTHER, YOU SHALL NOT LEAVE THIS REALM ALIVE!-!-!_"

The sclera of her eyes having now turned black, Evangeline charged at Setsuna with renewed power, but this time she was no longer playing around. Setsuna was immediately put on the defensive, terrified by the rage that the immortal blond brought to bear against her.

'This… this was no test! She actually meant to take one from me! This darkness, this rage… what has she become here?-!'

The fact that Evangeline's current berserk state left her of a less tactically-adept mind was all that saved Setsuna, leaving her attacks more predictable. Even with that, Setsuna was on the defensive and losing ground under the merciless, unrelenting assault of incredible speed and power, as the corrupted _shinso _made genuine attempts to kill her.

"I" _bam_ "WILL NOT" _crunch_ "ALLOW" _bang_ "YOU" _slam _"TO HAVE" _wham _"THAT" _boom _"WHICH I" _bang _"COULD NOT!-!-!"

Setsuna managed to survive, barely, by stopping holding back, going at Evangeline with attempt to maim. Even so, as the fight progressed, Setsuna was being worn down. The dark, corrupting rage continued to grab hold of Evangeline, her hair beginning to turn silver. After the rage-consumed girl sent Setsuna flying only to see the girl land upright, gasping for breath and covered with wounds, she formed a few hand-seals, and in Evangeline's right hand formed a Chidori that rapidly went from bluish-white to violet… and then went further, becoming corrupted and black, the sounds of flapping wings faintly emanating from it. Setsuna, knowing this would be the final clash, focused every bit of chakra she could spare into her sword, the blade crackling with golden-white electrical energy.

They charged.

"_Kuroi Chidori!_"

"_Kyokudai Raimeiken!_"

There was a blinding flash of light which tossed the astral observers back into their physical bodies and the real world. In the arena, Setsuna dashed forward, her strings severed, deck-brush drawn and charging at Evangeline, who was too stunned by the fact that the _hanyō _had broken her genjutsu to react in time.

There was a resounding _crack_ as Setsuna's attack hit home, striking Evangeline hard in the chest and knocking her to the ground. As soon as the proctor's count hit 4, Evangeline began struggling to get to her feet, dark power visibly brimming in her as her black aura raged and her eyes & hair changed, her voice crying out in wordless hatred and bloodlust as her new injuries prevented her from standing.

"10! Despite her struggles to do so, contestant McDowell failed to get back to her feet before the 10-count! Setsuna Sakurazaki advances to the semifinals!"

At that moment, several people rushed to the field. Konoka ran over to Setsuna, checking up on her, while Negi & Asuna went to try and restrain the still-thrashing Evangeline. Despite her near-shattered ribs, the girl continued to struggle and snarl, the darkness beckoning her to draw the blood of the half-_uzoku _before her. Suddenly, Teana appeared directly in front of her, crouched down to her level, her _Mangekyō Sharingan _active and staring into Evangeline's black eyes. After several seconds, Evangeline's movements began to slow and lessen, the darkness gradually retreating before the power of those crimson eyes. Finally, the darkness faded, leaving a physically and mentally exhausted little girl, who slumped in Negi & Asuna's arms, gasping for breath. Teana deactivated her eyes and was panting lightly, having used nearly half of her remaining reserves to suppress Evangeline's corruptive fury.

After several seconds, Evangeline spoke again, in a half-whisper due to having rendered her own throat raw, staring into Setsuna's eyes.

"You… are a fool, Sakurazaki. A deluded, over-idealistic fool. And fate loves to crush people like you. …Don't try to obtain both strength and happiness. It won't work. It never works. Some people think they have it, or even have it for a short while, but inevitably things go bad. Always, without fail. Give up one or the other while you still can. If you try to have both… just as I once tried… than you, just like I did, will only end up losing _everything_… I once strived for both, even had both ever so briefly for a few years, but then God showed me how foolhardy such an endeavor was. I lost everything that I'd worked for and more; decades of work, all crashing down around me; nothing except loneliness, pain, and hatred remained. I then tossed aside my chance at happiness, and thus crawled my way up to obtaining strength. If you, Setsuna, try as I did, you will lose it all, too, with nothing but pain and despair remaining, and I feel that you will not have the strength of will to regain neither strength nor happiness once that happens. We are all… destined… for that darkness…"

And with that, she slumped unconscious, falling limp in Negi and Asuna's arms. Those still conscious turned to look at Setsuna, and noticed that she had gone pale and was shaking. Evangeline's words had full effect. The swordsgirl pushed herself away from Konoka, stood up on unsteady legs, and made her way off the field as fast as she could.

Evangeline had lost the match, but Setsuna had lost the battle.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The semifinals had gone by rather quickly. Setsuna had lost rather badly to Negi, the girl too distracted and distraught by Evangeline's words to focus properly on the fight. The fight between Albireo Imma and Kaede Nagase had proven interesting when Nagase showed she could fight on par with an Ala Rubra member… and had gotten even more interesting when Teana, thanks to her Sharingan, announced her discovery that Albireo was a semi-solid astral projection; the _real _Albireo was nowhere near the stadium. Despite knowing what to do, Kaede failed to overcome Albireo's defenses, and was eventually forced to concede to him.

Now, everyone stood with baited breath as Negi Springfield and Albireo Imma stared each other down on the stage, the starting bell having just rung.

"Now, Negi-kun," Albireo said, "allow me to test your ability."

From the sleeve of his robe came a book, which he placed a bookmark in, closed, and then yanked the bookmark out. Instantly he was engulfed in smoke as an in-depth transformation took hold. The smoke quickly cleared, to reveal an older man in a light-grey suit, his hands in his pockets.

"No way…" Chamo said. "That's Gateau Vanderburg of Ala Rubra! But… he was killed in battle 10 years ago! …This is more than just a regular Transformation Technique – I actually felt Albireo's energy signature change into this guy's. Such an advanced transformation…"

'Gateau' pressed his hands together, activating his _kanka_. He flash-stepped up and over Negi… and a _tremendous _five-set of _Iaiken _blows smashed into the ground just outside the arena, hitting the water and sending a spray of mist into the area.

"As expected of Gateau…" said Albireo, now behind Negi and back in his normal form. "Wonderful firepower, isn't it? Though, the current Takamichi-kun can do even better than that. Well then, as you can see, the ability of my artifact, _Hai Bubloi Hai Bibliographikai_, is…"

In a flash, he transformed into a younger Eishun Aoyama-Konoe.

"…The ability to recreate a specific individual's physical abilities and outer appearance. However, this ability lasts no more than a few minutes for individuals who surpass me, so it's not a very useful ability. Plus, most humans are weaker than me, so there's no point in recreating them."

Another swirl of books and light, revealing Nekane Springfield.

"My interest is in the collection of other people's life stories… Each of these magical tomes contains the life's journey of one person, and…"

Another transformation, this time into a six-year-old Anya Cocolova.

"The other ability of my artifact… is the ability to recreate a specific individual's personality, memory, and emotion at the moment that the Book of Life Journey was created – Total Replay of Complete Personality. Although the replay time is only 10 minutes… the tome will also lose its magic, and become a simply biography. Therefore, it is also not a very useful ability. …Well, what it _can _be used for would probably be along the lines of a living will, I guess."

Just as the mist faded, Albireo returned to his normal form, staring at the shocked Negi.

"Now then…" Al said. "10 years ago, I received a request from a friend of mine: 'If anything were to happen to me, I want to leave some words for the son I have not yet met'."

Negi had a look of shocked recognition on his face as he realized what this meant, as did Setsuna (enhanced hearing) and Teana (Sharingan-aided lip-reading).

"This will last 10 minutes, and can only be done this one time."

The book levitated in front of Albireo, and his hand began to glow with power.

"Wait!" Negi shouted. "That person from the snowy night in England six years ago… was it you, Albireo-san?"

"Hm? Six years ago… no, that wasn't me."

A pillar of swirling light erupted from Albireo, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light faded… and shock reigned. A hooded figure stood, a few doves perched on his arm and shoulders. The hood fell back, revealing deep red hair.

"Yo…" the man said with a grin. "You're Negi?"

"…D-daddy…"

The man spat a feather out of his mouth as the doves flew away.

"Man, what's with the birds?" he said. "Does Al always have to be so damn dramatic?"

"Holy _shit…_" Chamo muttered, his jaw practically on the floor.

"DADDY!-!"

Negi ran toward the duplicate of his father… and got finger-flicked in the head, tumbling away end over end.

"…Mahora Budokai, is it?" 'Nagi' said. "Giving me such a stage like this on purpose… that guy sure is hard-working as always. ...Ha, whatcha cryin' for, son? You're a man, aren't ya?"

"H-how could I not cry for something like this?-! I've been searching for you for yea-"

'Nagi' pinched his cheek, pulling him in and getting a good look.

"What's with this?" Nagi laughed. "You're all banged up! What a serious-looking brat, even though you're supposed to be the son of a carefree goofball like me! I guess you get your personality from your mother. Man, I can't tell you how much effort it takes to get that woman to loosen up; always taking things way too seriously, she is. Gotta love her, though."

"M-my… mom?"

"Yeah, sorry little man, but I can't really tell you who she is right now. She pissed off a lot of bad guys in her day, just like I did, and if you went lookin' for her they'd probably target _you_, too, and you're not quite strong enough to handle 'em just yet. I _can _tell you that she's an S+ rank mage with affinity for Fire- and Wind-type spells. …I can sense you've got some Wind affinity, probably from her, along with having inherited my Lightning affinity. …So, you look around 10. Such an amazing thing, considering that as far as my memory goes, you've still got, like, two months until you're born."

"…Dad… I…"

"Well, then, we don't have much time. Besides, I'm not good at being all serious like this. And we're finally given a stage like this, too…"

He took a fighting stance. "How 'bout a spar with your old man? You made it all the way to the finals; that means you got skills, right? This is all I can do for you right now. …_Come_."

"…Yes, Father."

"…That's an interesting stance. Is that Chinese _kenpo_?"

"Y-Yes."

"Try to hang on for as long as you can, or it'll be over too soon, alright?"

The match commenced, 'father' and son matching blow for blow. Nagi technically had the edge, but Negi was most definitely putting up one hell of a fight, surprising 'Nagi' with both spells and _jutsu_. A narrow miss left a scar on Negi's upper right arm, but he continued to fight despite the blood running down said limb. Finally, though, it came to an end, and the 10-count began.

"You did really well, Negi. …But you know, it's just… see, if you can't levitate, it'll be tough for you at the higher levels, y'know? At the very least, you should learn the flash-step technique to the point where you don't need to push off from a solid surface. When I was your age, I could do that."

Negi laughed weakly. "Just as I thought… You're so strong, dad. You're… just like I always imagined."

"I'm glad to hear that."

He patted Negi on the head, just as the count hit 10.

"Negi… I'm afraid we're on, like, my last minute or so."

He helped the boy to his feet.

"Hmm… the fact that I'm standing here talking to you like this means that I'm dead, I guess… I'm sorry… for not being able to do anything for you. I don't have the right to tell you something like this, but… grow up happy. Goodb-"

"Wait! Please wait! I need to tell you… you're still alive! You saved my life six years ago!"

"Nagi!"

Both combatants turned and noticed a little blond-haired girl, panting lightly.

"Master?" Negi asked.

"…Wait, what?" Nagi said, looking between his son and his eternally-preteen acquaintance. "M-Master?"

"Shut up for now" Eva said. "Although there are tons of things I want to say to you, like about the curse, I'll leave them for now. It's pointless to say anything to an illusion."

"Curse? …Ahh, the curse! That's… um… I was really concerned about that, y'know! Didn't… didn't I remove that?"

"_No_."

"…Is… is that blood?"

"The rune? Yes; it's Klaus' blood… from when I punched a hole in his shoulder and severed his arm."

Nagi frowned, actually looking a bit angry.

"Oh, calm down. He ain't dead. Though, I admit, I sincerely _was _trying to kill him. Only that bastard Albireo's interference prevented me from punching a hole through the sadistic old jailer's heart. …There's no time left, right?"

"Yeah… only a few seconds."

"…Hug me?"

"…No."

"…My head?"

"…Mmkay."

He put his hand on the girl's head, and those who looked close could see a tear fall from her eye.

"Negi… I don't know what kind of life you've lived up til now," Nagi said to Negi as the transformation began to fade, "or about things that happened after I was gone… since right now, I'm nothing more than an illusion. But you know… I can understand your feeling of admiration for this young, accomplished, yet super-cool genius and undefeatable father who was also a hero, but… you should stop tryin' to chase after me all the time. You… should be yourself. …See ya."

A pillar of light shot up into the heavens, and 'Nagi' was gone. Evangeline quickly disengaged from Albireo and silently walked off-stage.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The awards ceremony was over. Setsuna now sat alone in one of the changing rooms, absorbed in thought. Emotions warred within her as Evangeline's words continued to rampage through her mind. She clutched at her heart, squeezing her eyes shut and trying not to let it all overwhelm her.

"Secchan?"

Her eyes shot open, and she went stiff as Konoka walked in, sitting down next to her. For a few seconds, both were still and quiet. Then, Konoka reached over and pulled Setsuna into a hug, the thinner girl resisting slightly at first but then giving in and slowly, partially relaxing in her Kono-chan's arms.

"Eva-chan was wrong."

Setsuna again reacted in deep surprise at Konoka's sudden proclamation.

"Having both strength and happiness… it's not impossible. You just have to work a little harder to get both. But we can do it. Eva-chan isn't living proof of her belief; she was just really unlucky in life, and the misfortunes that she went through broke her. I know because… well, when she was sleeping off her injuries, I kinda… peeked into her mind a bit. Don't tell her. …It's not impossible. Nagi-san did it, Negi-kun's done it, Teana-chan… well, she's getting there. You can do it too, Secchan."

"…Kono-chan…"

"In fact, I'll _help _you get both strength and happiness. Eva-chan failed so long ago because she didn't have any friends to help her. We have friends - Negi-kun and Asuna and Teana-chan & her squad and everyone else. I swear that I will gain strength and still maintain hold of my happiness, never letting go of either one, and I will help you do the same. And then, when I have, Negi-kun and I will even make sure Eva-chan gets the happiness she has truly deserved for so long, along with her strength. …Will you help us do all that, Secchan? Will you help _me_?"

Setsuna nodded, and Konoka pulled her in tighter, the swordsgirl finally returning the hug.

"Come on," Konoka said after about a minute of being in each other's arms, "let's go out and find some more happiness in the festival."

Setsuna took her hand, and both walked out to rejoin the group.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

I am so damn sorry that this took for-fucking-ever; as stated at the top, I got distracted and have been busy. _Hopefully _(no promises), it won't take so long next time.


	7. Pactios and Planning

…I'm not dead.

"What?"

I'm not dead!

"He says he's not dead!"

"Yes he is"

I'm not dead! I'm getting better!

Yeah, sorry about the humongous absence. First I undertook a huge self-appointed task to translate all the Japanese writing in my considerable collection of animé pictures, and then I discovered A Game of Gods on TV-Tropes (I play Kimimaro and Kisame). And then I discovered _Puella Magi Madoka Magica_, which is to magical girl shows what _Evangelion _is to super-robot shows. Anyhow…

On _Pokémon White_: I've beat the main story (Ghetsis was such an utter bastard, wasn't he?). I've explored every city. I've captured the "Musketeer Trio". I've beat the Elite Four again and gotten into the Hall of Fame. I've captured Kyūrem. I've beat Cynthia in Undella Town. All that's left is Thundurus. As such, I will never complete _White_. In Pokémon, I am HORRIBLE at tracking down the Runners/Roamers, much less catching them. I never even got Latias & Latios, Mesprit, or Cresselia, and only got Raikō & Entei through _Pokémon Colosseum_. I can use my Master Ball to catch Thundurus if/when I find him; anyone have advice on how to catch up to the bastard in the first place?

And for something in this chapter: no, I haven't played _Assassin's Creed _yet, though I do plan on renting the game, playing through it a bit, and if I like it I'll buy a copy, beat it, and then get _AC2_.

RANDOM JOKE (my old stand-by; who gets it?): A guy walks into a bar and says "ow".

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mahora Academy – Library Island**

**June 21****st****, 2011**

"Yue… you love Negi-sensei too, haven't you?"

Haruna's proclamation sent Yue reeling; Konoka and Marie were a little shocked, but had the presence of mind to not make any sound, not wanting to potentially make things go bad.

"I… you… I-I… No… no, I…"

"It's okay, Yue."

"How is it okay?-!" the normally-stoic girl shouted tearfully, catching Haruna a bit off-guard. "I promised myself that I'd help Nodoka end up with Negi! To fall for him… I've betrayed her! How can I still call myself her friend if I'm in love with the boy she loves?-!"

"The human heart cannot truly be controlled or guided, Yue" Haruna replied. "Our hearts do whatever they want, no matter what our minds may try to tell them to do. We can't help who we fall in love with. Your heart just happens to be disagreeing with you right now."

Yue couldn't think of a response, so she instead curled up on herself, sitting on the floor.

"What… what am I gonna do?"

"Well… you could maybe share him?"

"What?-!"

"Hear me out. It's rare that such things work out, but certainly not unheard of. Look at those three college students that we ran into earlier today. Or at the records in Teana's Device's datatracks regarding her instructors Takamachi & Testarossa with that Scrya guy – they're perfectly happy together. All it takes is for all people involved in the group to understand and respect each other and whatnot, and for the main focus person to have room in their heart for everyone. And if I know anything, it's that you & Nodoka understand each other better than anyone else, care for each other way too deeply to let anything tear you apart, and that Negi-kun most definitely has a big enough heart to love both of you… and probably several other girls in addition, for that matter."

"But… but what if she… she would never be willing to…"

"Yes, I would."

Yue's eyes shot open as Nodoka's voice made itself known, the quiet violet-haired girl walking up to join the group. Haruna was smiling – not her usual mischievous/perverted Cheshire Cat Grin, but a soft, warm smile rarely seen from her. Marie and Konoka silently looked to each other before returning their attention to the unfolding events.

"I've thought about it," Nodoka said as she walked up next to Yue, who stiffened as she put a hand on her shoulder, "and I… am willing to share Negi-sensei… especially if it's with you, Yue. I know that… that he's able to love both of us at the same time and make sure that we're _all _happy."

And then she kneeled down and pulled Yue into a hug. The shorter girl soon relaxed in her best friend's arms, returning the embrace.

Haruna gave a content sigh. "You four will be so happy together" she muttered. However, the two heard it.

"Four?" Nodoka & Yue said simultaneously, looking at Haruna.

"Oops! Did… did I say that out loud?"

"Spill it, Haruna" Yue said in her normal flat tone.

"Well… y'see… Ahsoka-chan's got quite the crush on Negi-kun, it turns out. I only found out recently. But… but lately, she and we have gotten pretty close. The old trio of me and you two kinda has her as a new fourth member, wouldn't you say? If she was in with this, I'm sure there'd be no trouble."

The more Nodoka and Yue thought about it, the more they agreed. They and Ahsoka had gotten rather close as friends, and the girl was nothing if not loyal and kind-hearted, though prone to somewhat-abrasive sarcasm to people she didn't know at all, and even then she seemed to always somehow know where to draw the line to avoid actually seriously offending anyone (unless they were asking for it, at which point she really let 'em have it). They looked to each other and nodded. Ahsoka was wholly welcome to join in.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Yue's face went beet-red as Haruna and Konoka forced her & Negi's together in a kiss. The Pactio circle at their feet glowed with power, and Yue felt as Negi's magical power flowed into and through her, causing her to fight back a moan from the sensation. Negi was a tad surprised when Yue leaned into the kiss, pressing her lips tightly against his. Soon, the glow faded, and they parted, both of them blushing. Negi reached out and grabbed the new floating card, creating a duplicate for Yue.

"Okay," Shion said, "that's one down."

"Huh?" Negi said, eyes wide and confused. "What do you mean?"

By the time Ahsoka realized what her teammates were planning, Shion already had her hands on her shoulders and was beginning to maneuver her towards Negi, who was being ushered toward her by Marie. Both blushed with realization, but Ahsoka's blush was around thrice as deep as Negi's. They were placed standing inside a new Pactio circle, facing each other. Eventually, Ahsoka's wants won out over her embarrassment, and she leaned forward and captured Negi's lips with her own. The Pactio circle flared to life, Negi's magical energy flowing into and through Ahsoka's body, causing her cheeks to flush further and a quiet, whimpering moan to come from her throat, muffled by the kiss.

After several seconds, the circle's light faded, and the two disengaged, Ahsoka panting lightly as she reveled in the echoes of the sensation that had coursed through her. She was shaken out of her daze by Negi handing her the Pactio card. She focused on the card, feeling for the power in it and in herself.

"_Adeat_"

In a flash, a dull-red bracer-like device formed over her left forearm, a small magitek machine with organic-looking curves much like the tech commonly made by Protoss and Sangheili. Following a mental cue, she clenched her fist and focused her energies. An extra metal plate/flap faded into existence extending over her fist, locking to prevent her from bending her wrist upwards… and a blue-green energy blade, looking like a cross between a lightsaber and Shion's Void Blade sprang into existence, a teensy bit shorter and narrower than Shion's energy blade but otherwise alike, except for emitting the constant low hum of a lightsaber blade, and looking like such.

"Woah"

She focused some more, and from the outer edge of the bracer sprang a few triangular energy blades/spikes, looking somewhat like the teeth of a shark or something. Another mental command, and they grew and merged to form a large, wide energy blade jutting out from the side, shaped like the fin of a dolphin. She experimented in switching between the different blades on her Artifact. Lastly, she followed one last cue. With the other blades deactivated, she bent her wrist up and curled in her ring finger, and a thin, flat energy spike sprang out from under her wrist, about 10 inches long.

"Should I start calling you Ezio?" Marie said.

"What?" Ahsoka looked honestly confused.

"Ah, sorry. I forgot I hadn't shown you that game series yet. I'll tell you later."

After about a minute more of experimenting, Ahsoka dispelled her Artifact, returning it to card form and pocketing it.

"Two down, one to go…" Haruna said in a worrying tone, advancing on Negi with her trademark grin. Negi was a little frightened by the predatory look in her eyes, but Shion held him in place as Chamo reinforced the Pactio circle one last time, Haruna stepping into it. She gazed into Negi's eyes, seeing the multitude of emotions in them. She smoothly removed her glasses, pocketing them, and then pulled Negi close, bending over slightly so her breasts pressed into his chest & neck rather than smothering his head. She wrapped one arm around his waist, holding him close, and placed her other hand on the back of his head. She leaned down and kissed him, tilting his head back as she did.

Negi felt as his magical energy began to flow through Haruna, but he mainly focused on how she was pulling him close against her shapely body, sending his not-quite-pubescent mind and body into confusion… but a strangely welcoming kind of confusion. He involuntarily squeaked as he felt her lower hand grab his butt and squeeze, and then felt as she took the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth, to his great surprise. He couldn't really do anything about it, though; one hand continued to hold his head close, while the other was still gently but firmly squeezing and fondling his bottom. Despite himself, Negi let out a light moan as he unconsciously started to give in and enjoy the whole thing, Haruna happily continuing to plunder his mouth and knead his ass. All the while, the other girls looked on in mortified fascination… and jealousy.

Finally, about 15 seconds after the Pactio ritual itself was finished, Haruna disengaged, running her tongue along Negi's lips as she slowly broke apart. The boy's eyes were half-lidded, a fairly deep blush on his face, and he was panting lightly; his first 'deep kiss' had been far more than he'd expected. She gave his rump a final squeeze and gently ran her other hand along the side of his face; like Ahsoka before him, he unconsciously leaned into her hand as she did so. She stepped back, grabbing her new Pactio card.

"That…" she said to him, "was an adult kiss. Remember it, so you'll know what to do with your future girlfriend… or girlfriend_s_."

Negi dumbly nodded.

At this point, Marie's cell-phone rang, changing the mood. It changed the mood due to the fact that the ringtone was not something you'd expect from Marie:

_(rapid drum beats) Oo-ow!_

_If you're hungry for a hunk'a fat 'n juicy meat,_

_Eat my buddy Pumbaa here, because he is a treat_

_Comin' down to dine,_

_On this tasty swine,_

_All you hafta do is get in liiiine…_

_Aaaaaare ya achin' (yep-yep-yep)_

_Fooooor some bacon (yep-yep-yep)_

_Heeeeee's a big pig (yep-yep)_

_You can be a big pig, too! Oi!-!_

At this point, Negi, Haruna, and Shion were giggling as a mildly embarrassed Marie answered her cell phone.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Boss. …Yeah, we got three new Pactios. …Yue, Ahsoka, and Haruna. …Yeah, Ahsoka got one. …Yes, Haruna took it over the top; was gettin' kinda hot & heavy, really. ….Mmkay, we'll see you at the concert. Bye."

"Concert?" Ahsoka asked.

"Oh, you mean the Cheerleader Trio and Ako-chan, right?" Haruna said. Marie nodded.

And then Shion's phone rang.

_Chocolate?-! Chocolate!-! CHOCOLAAAAATE!-!-!-! CHOCOLAAAAATE!-!-!-! CHOCOLAAAAATE!-!-!-!_

(beep) "Hello? …Hi, Asuna-san."

By this point Haruna was laughing out loud, and Marie was giggling, too, as Shion filled Asuna in on the recent happenings (Asuna's 'protective older sister' side meant that she wasn't too pleased at Haruna threatening Negi's innocence like that and her all but molesting him, but she knew that there was no stopping Haruna from such things).

And of course, all the Earth pop-culture/cartoon references went right over poor Ahsoka's head.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Roof of Mahora Middle School Building**

**That Night**

"So, Marie, we've heard Teana and Shion's stories. What's _your_ family like?"

Marie leaned against the chair she sat in as she processed Mai's question, tuning out the surprise Going-Away Party being held in Chao's honor. She sighed, leaned back, and then began to speak.

"Well… first off, my mother Veronica is damn near unshakeable – iron will, and whatnot. She's… a little harsh and short-tempered, but considering the ugly divorce she & dad went through, and the stress of raising three kids, one of which was the old, bratty me, it's kind of understandable."

From the currently-dormant Charon projected an image of a woman in her mid-30s, with mid-back-length hair similar (though not identical) in color & shade to Teana's, and piercing green eyes.

"Then there's my little sister Erika. She's 11, but she's pretty small for her age. She's kindhearted, quiet, unassuming, _really _shy, and has a gift for reading people – basically, she's a lot like Nodoka-chan and Hinata-chan. One thing about her, though: …she's incontinent. She has to wear diapers. I remember it being caused by some sort of accident when she was little, but… well, with how that magical perfume or whatever the Hell it was alters reality _and memories_ to fit whatever changes it causes, I'm starting to wonder if maybe she tried it on herself without knowing what would happen… Anyway, she's the sweetest little thing, really. She's very _moé_, especially when she blushes, which is _really _often."

The hologram showed the small pre-teen girl, nervous green eyes open wide and a light blush on her face framed by shoulder-length, slightly-downward-spiking black hair. If one looked close, the skirt she was wearing stuck out a bit more than it should, hinting at her embarrassing semi-secret.

"Then… there's Sarah. My older sister – even after my age-up to my original body, she's still got a couple of months on me and more than a couple of inches. She is… perfect. The old me didn't see it – refused to see it – but… she is, probably, the best big sister anyone could ever hope for. She's smart, kind, strong, can switch between goofy and serious in a heartbeat as needed, damn wise for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old, and always knows just what to say or do to make people feel better. Even when I was the old me, she was probably the only person who could make me feel truly comfortable. I love her with all my heart. After… after all that the old me did to her… I don't… don't really deserve to have her as my big sister anymore. I had that chance and I squandered it. Granted, if anyone would forgive an irredeemable brat like me, it'd be her… but I still haven't really forgiven _myself_ for what I used to be."

The hologram showed the young woman, blond hair held back and up in a ponytail, dark-blue jeans and a white shirt with open brown jacket completing the look, along with a green-eyed smile that was near-comforting just to look at in a still image.

"She looks kinda like Mion…" Shion muttered. "Same hairstyle, similar taste in clothing… Like another Mion, except for the hair color and breast size."

Marie looked at the rather impressive figure of her sister in the hologram, and then arched an eyebrow at Shion.

"Twins" Shion said, while cupping her prodigious breasts, causing them to almost-imperceptibly jiggle.

"Ah" Marie simply responded, absent-mindedly glancing down at her own low-C-cup assets with a twinge of jealousy. "Right. Oh! I almost forgot Erika's little boyfriend, Tim."

The hologram showed the young boy, around 10, with short black hair, dark-green eyes, and an innocent smile, wearing black jeans and a red shirt.

"Tim Randall. He's a great kid. He and Erika have _really _hit it off together. And yes, he knows about her little problem, but he doesn't care one bit; I actually have a feeling he thinks it's a little endearing. Cheerful, patient, a teensy bit shy but nowhere near as much as Erika, pretty smart and wise for his age… basically, he's like Negi-kun without the parental abandonment issues. Erika got herself one hell of a catch. …Now if they'd only work up the nerve to actually confess to each other…"

By now, several more people had gathered around and listened to Marie's descriptions of her family, including the rest of Gamma, Konoka & Setsuna, Negi, Chao, the Library Trio, Ayaka, Chizuru & Natsumi, Akira & Ako, and Kaede Nagase & the twins. Holograms of all four individuals now showed up side by side in response.

"Your little sister does look cute" Chizuru said.

"More than that" Haruna said. "The shyness! The small stature! The adorable little smile and big blush! The innocent, heartwarming relationship with an equally-adorable little boyfriend! The wholly justifiable reason to take care of her! If that isn't nigh-unbelievably _kawaii _and _moé_, I don't know what is!"

Ayaka, meanwhile, was fighting down the slight tingling of her Shota Senses upon seeing the hologram of Tim, while Ako was looking back and forth between Akira and the hologram of Sarah. Chao, meanwhile, was focusing on something else.

"Interesting device you have there" she said, referring to Charon.

"Thank you" Charon stated, catching anyone not already in the know off-guard. Natsumi gave a shocked look to Marie.

"Yeah…" Marie sighed. "He's not quite at the level of Chachamaru-san, but Charon-kun's AI is pretty advanced. Teana-san's personal AI, Cross Mirage, is a bit more advanced, but not by much. I'd… rather not say how we got them, really, except I can say that I built Charon's superstructure by myself using Cross Mirage's physical structure combined with my own ideas & visions as a sort of guideline, and I... can't really reveal how the AI that Charon-kun is came to be. He & I have been through a lot together, even though I've only had him for a few months or so. Teana-san has had Cross Mirage for much longer; they're pretty much inseparable."

"Master has stated I am one of the three individuals she trusts most in all of existence" Cross Mirage, still in Card Form in Teana's breast pocket, stated, "though she has yet to inform me of who the other two are."

"I bet I know who…" Marie said with a tiny smirk. "It's that blue-haired girl who was clinging to you in that picture of your old team you have, isn't it?"

Teana blushed and fidgeted. Haruna, as expected, now had her trademark grin on her face. Teana gave a wavering sigh and then pulled Cross Mirage free, holding him flat. A hologram sprung up of a dark-blue-haired, green-eyed smiling girl around Teana's age, wearing a tight sweater that accented her not-inconsiderable assets, along with jean-shorts.

"Subaru. Nakajima Subaru. My first friend. Met her around three years or so ago. We argue a bit – well, mostly she says or does something that sets me off and I snap at her while she just laughs and apologizes. Even so, we're always there for each other, no matter what, and we'd do anything for each other. Yeah, she's another of my most important people. I… haven't seen her in months. I really miss her… a whole lot. Stupid as it is, I even miss her silly fun-first-business-later attitude, and her insatiable sweet tooth. Her laugh… her smile… her eyes… her warmth… her presence… Without her, it… feels like part of me's missing. I miss her… _so much_…"

A hand fell upon each of her shoulders – one from Haruna, and one from Marie. "You must really love her" Haruna said with uncharacteristic seriousness and tenderness. Teana blushed, but then closed her eyes and smiled, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "…Yeah… I do. I'm… such a fool that I didn't realize it until just now… long after I left her to get away from our old boss, who betrayed me in a manner I'd really rather not bring up. If I'd been more aware of myself back then… I'd probably have done anything to convince Subaru to come with me. I only hope… that losing me doesn't destroy her."

"You'll see her again."

Teana's eyes shot open, and she raised her head to look at Negi, who had a serious look in his eyes and a mature smile on his face.

"I _know _it" he said with utmost conviction. "You'll see her again, Teana-san. Sooner or later… you'll get to be with her again."

Teana suppressed a tiny sob, and smiled & nodded.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Evangeline's Resort**

Everyone readied themselves, checking weapons & tools and going over battle plans.

After the gang had initiated the new recruits (Haruna and Chisame) fully, explaining to them Negi & co's exploits and Gamma Team's as well (luckily, Chisame was a player of _Halo _and _StarCraft_, so freak-out was tempered by mild fangirlism), they'd spent time training and trying to get Asuna out of her funk over the thing with Takahata (this had not 100% succeeded, but she claimed she was now good to fight).

Negi had explained what Chao had told him: that she had come back from the future to reveal magic to the world at large, for some as-yet-unexplained reason. After much moral deliberation, they had to choose their own futures, what they still had yet to accomplish in their lives, over the good that might have come about with the breaking of the masquerade. Now prepared to do what was necessary, they all gathered at the exit point of the Resort.

As the light whisked them all outside, and they exited and headed off out of Eva's Cottage, they all missed the single holographic note taped to the dome, written in Chao's handwriting:

"I WIN"

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	8. Back From The Future

Here we go again

This fic now has a page and a character page on TV-Tropes… that I created. Please check it out, see the path the series will take in the future (yes, I'm taking this baby all the way to 18 books, 19 if I can figure out how to work the Mass Effect 'verse into things), and (if you're a Troper) add in any Tropes not already there (including "Subjectives" – "Awesome Moments", "Funny Moments", "Tear-Jerker", etc):

/Fanfic/TeanasTravels

/Characters/TeanasTravels

As a matter of fact, if you're a "Known" Troper, see if you can get this fic added to the "Fanfic Recs" page (/FanFic/Fanfics); there's a rule against adding one's own works to that page, so I can't do it, but other Troper(s) can. Try and find other Trope pages to mention this fic in, too, to help draw attention to the Trope Page.

PLEASE BOYCOTT "A GAME OF GODS" AND "TWILIGHT OF THE GODS" ON TV-TROPES. If you're feeling like taking a risk, if you see "SOCR", "Colonial", or "Fusionman", be hostile; they're the trio responsible for permanently kicking me out of both (well, I admit I pulled a Jerkass moment, but they all coldly shot down my sincere apologies despite my pleas). Be nice to "Psyga-315", though; he's the only chap of the entire AGOG/TOTG group who stuck by me to the end and tried (and failed) to prevent my exile.

Also, check out my Contributor Page if you want to; just click on "DKN 117" toward the top of the Teana's Travels page and have a look-see. Look but don't touch, though.

…NOOO!-!-! IRONHIDE!-!-!-! Sentinel, you wretched, treacherous bastard!-!-!-!

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mahora Academy**

**Outside Evangeline's Cottage**

**DATE UNKNOWN**

The gang had split up, covering various grounds, with Teana & Negi heading back to Class 3-A. And that's where the trouble started. No sooner had the duo reached the classroom then Negi was swamped by the girls there… who nigh-immediately revealed that they all knew he was a mage. As their questions continued to hound an increasingly freaked-out Negi, there was suddenly a very loud 'crack' sound, causing everyone to freeze and look over to Teana, who stood with Mirage Pistol pointed at the ceiling, the hole from a .45-caliber bullet visible in the ceiling.

"All of you girls" she said, using her signature Death Glare, "calm the fuck down, give the poor kid some space, and answer my questions. _Got it_?"

Everyone nodded, some of them a little pale.

"Now… We just spent some time in a special training chamber where every 24 hours passed equals one hour in the outside world. We were in there for three days, so it _should _be 9:50 pm of June 21st, and the perfect time to stop Chao's plot. Where in that plan have things gone wrong for us?"

Akira stepped forward. "Today is… July 1st. If you were trying to stop Chao, she must've booby-trapped the time-displaced location you guys were in. Thanks to her, magic is known all throughout the world now."

Negi went very pale.

"Negi-kun?" Makie said worriedly.

"Girls…" Teana said with utmost seriousness. "That we failed to stop Chao means that unless we think of something… Negi will be taken away, turned into an ermine, and locked up for _at least _a decade, as punishment for failing to stop Chao."

Shocked silence for several seconds, and then

"_WHAT?-!-?-!-?-!_"

"Why would they do that?-!" Ayaka screamed.

"I've gotten the impression that the head honchos overseeing this branch of magical law are composed of stuffy obstructive bureaucrats" Teana replied. "But… now that I think, there might still be hope! A while back, Negi got his hands on a time-jumper device. It's normally limited to about 24 hours, and he used it to make sure he got everything done during the festival. But if it's only been a week, there might still be some Ancient Magic left in the World Tree's roots. If we can get down there, we could channel it through the Time-Jumper and make a jump back a whole week, and stop this mess from happening!"

"But… what about us?" Makie asked. "We know something incredible about Negi-kun, but if you go back and stop Chao…"

"Hey" Teana said with a smirk. "Knowing this kid's luck, and mine, you'll all find out eventually sooner or later in the proper timeline."

"Y-You really think that?" Negi said shocked.

"Yep! Let's go, kid!"

Teana grabbed hold of Negi's wrist and took off, the boy gathering himself after a few seconds and running alongside her. They soon reached the outside and started hopping across the roofs. However, they suddenly had to break off and land in a courtyard to dodge a series of stun-blast spells. A dark-skinned man landed in front of them, clad in a sharp suit and glasses.

"Gandolfini-san?" Negi asked. "What are you doing?"

"That's far enough, you two" he said, his tone all business. "You failed to stop Chao. Had you not interfered when we tried to take her in last time, none of this would have happened. This is on your heads. I'm taking you both in."

"Hold on" Teana shouted, stepping forward. "We have a way to fix this! We've gotten our hands on a temporal relocation device. We can jump back a week and stop this from happening; all we need is to get to the roots of the World Tree, tap into its mana supply and make the jump back."

"Don't joke around!" the dark-skinned man shouted. "Time travel? That's ridiculous! Now come on!" he drew his magitek pistol.

Teana activated her blade. "We'll be heading back a week… so if I kill you to get past you, it won't affect things in the long run, since undoing Chao's success will erase this timeline. Don't make me spill your blood."

Before anyone could react, a smoke bomb flew in and detonated at Gandolfini's feet; the man coughed and shielded his eyes.

"Gamma-1!"

Teana and Negi turned to the voice, spotting Captain Rex running up, followed by Cody and a squad of ODSTs.

"We've been debriefed by Ahsoka, and we heard your explanation just now. Follow us; we'll link up with the others and get below the Tree."

"Thanks a million, Rex" Teana said with a smile. "I owe ya. Come on, kid!"

The group rushed on, ducking back & forth through and between buildings, while Cody explained how Chao had tapped into a series of magical nexuses in the campus that unleashed a planet-wide spell to destroy the "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" spell placed on the Mundane people of the world, followed by worldwide distribution of footage from the tournament. As they neared the entrance to underground they linked up with the rest of the group.

"You guys figure out what's going on?" Teana asked the others.

"Yep" Shion replied.

"You have to kill anybody?"

"No, but I think Marie might've broken Takane Goodman's arm."

"Can't be helped. Let's move!"

Near a shack out in the Mahora Woods, the Shadow Clones of Kaede Nagase, Kaede Fuyō, and Setsuna dispersed before the shocked eyes of Seruhiko and Kuzunoha, having bought enough time to allow the originals and the non-combatants to slip past and escape.

The group passed through the hidden entrance, making their way underground, beneath the mighty World Tree. They hurried along, Negi explaining their course of action. Suddenly, as they neared a doorway, there was a loud thudding sound… which turned out to be from a massive three-headed dog-beast, with a mane composed of serpents. Suddenly, pockets of non-space appeared and swallowed up Negi, Kaede Nagase, Setsuna, and the six girls of Gamma Team. Then, a large dragon appeared to cut off the escape of those who tried to run. As the other girls fought for their lives against the two beasts, Yue and Asuna were beset by a familiar figure.

"Takahata…sensei?"

Soon things were very wrong. Asuna and Yue were badly injured, Takahata having dealt serious harm to them in a cold and cruelly efficient manner. The others were torn up and pinned down by the two beasts, and the tiny little robed and hat-wearing figure rejected Chisame's pleas of normalcy.

"Silly girls" it said. "You're not normal anymore. You threw away being normal the minute you found out about magic."

And then suddenly, everything slowed down. There was a horrific sound, like glass fracturing, and then the world shattered. Everyone found themselves completely unharmed. The two beasts and Takahata had vanished, and now the tiny robed figure sat on the ground in shock, surrounded by a plush dog, a toy dragon, and a little doll of Takahata. Teana stared at the small figure, her Sharingan eyes glowing red.

"Genjutsu of that level cannot hold me" she intoned in a dangerous voice, glaring at the small figure, who was now trembling.

"You sought to bar our path" Teana growled as she stomped slowly toward the little figure. "Sought to harm us. Made a man we trust attack us. …You think yourself skilled in the art of illusions?"

She now stood directly in front of the little figure, who stood on shaking legs looking up at the tall girl.

"You are wrong in that assumption. Now, allow me to show you… a true genjutsu."

And her eyes transformed.

"_Tsukuyomi_."

The little figure stiffened as the Mangekyō Sharingan's ultimate genjutsu assailed its mind, 72 hours of terror and torture compressed into three seconds in the outside world. It stumbled back, twitching and shaking terribly… and then the hat fell off.

'Oh…' Teana thought. 'Shit'. Teana and everyone else then felt varying degrees of shock and horror when they saw and realized that, rather than some evil little gnome or summon, Teana had just used the ultimate Mind-Rape technique on a three-to-five-year-old little girl.

"…Oops"

The little girl, face deathly pale and eyes wide and shedding tears of pure, unfathomable fear, turned and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, stumbling a few times as she bolted for the doorway, her little mind fractured by the horrible experience, crying and sobbing and hyperventilating a little from sheer terror.

"Smooth, boss" Ahsoka snarked as she and the others walked up.

"How was I supposed to know our foe was a toddler?" the red-haired mage responded. She let out a long sigh. "Come on; let's keep moving…"

The group moved forward through the next tunnels. According to Cross Mirage's map courtesy of a seismic scan, they were nearing their destination. As they ran through the halls, they soon reached a wide-open room, with several outcroppings and a bridge that ran across. There, on the bridge, knelt the portly teacher seen about occasionally, and the little girl was clinging to him in a death grip; the man wore a look of great concern as he fussed over his daughter.

"I'm sorry" Teana spoke up, causing the man to look up at the arriving group… and the little girl to let out a short scream of terror and bury her face in her papa's chest. "If I had known we were fighting a little girl instead of some summon or goblin like I'd expected, I would not have used the _Tsukuyomi_."

The man stiffened; he'd read the reports. Even if it was by accident, his little girl had been hit by one of the cruelest and most mentally-damaging illusory techniques ever known?

"We have a plan" Negi spoke up. "We're heading for the base of the World Tree's roots. We'll use this temporal dislocation device" he held up the Cassiopeia watch, "and head back a week. We'll stop Chao's plan before it starts. We'll set things right."

"Well, I do hope you succeed where we failed, Negi-kun."

This voice caused several people to react as Takahata – the _real _Takahata stepped out from the corners.

"Go on, Negi-kun" he said. "Get to the core chamber, and save the-"

Takahata was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected source. Still reeling from him "rejecting" her, and from the illusory version of him ruthlessly attacking her, Asuna had slipped into the same altered mental state from her tournament match against Setsuna. Takahata, deeply shocked, barely dodged a downward swing of the _Ensis Exorcizans _that would've cleaved him in two. He looked in horror at Asuna's eyes; the light in them was gone, the slight hints of tears were visible, and her face was a mask of pure rage.

"Asuna-san?-!" Negi called out in shock. "What the heck are you doing?-!"

Asuna could no longer hear Negi in her current state. Takahata leapt upward to avoid a horizontal swing that would've bisected him at the waist, and then Asuna formed a quick sequence of hand-seals and then launched a barrage of small fireballs with shuriken hidden inside them. Takahata reacted quickly, using his _Iaiken _strikes to smash away the burning projectiles. The ground then fractured as Asuna launched herself off of it, hurtling upwards towards Takahata, the magic-chakra fusion power of _Kankahō _flowing through her. A punch infused with _kanka _and coated in fire chakra inadvertently synthesized the effects (though not the exact chakra nature) of the rare Blast Release _kekkei genkai _and caused a large explosion, a huge chunk of the wall ceasing to exist; had Takahata been half a second slower, that would've been his torso. A sword swing launched a thin blade-wave of lethal magic, which sliced off the tip of Takahata's cigarette as he bent backwards to dodge it; he spat out the rest of the stick and, though loathe to harm Asuna, fired an _Iaiken _bolt at the hand currently holding the sword.

That did not work. What did, work, however, was Negi shortly thereafter pulling out his copy of Asuna's Pactio card and muttering "_Abeat_". The magic nullifier sword promptly vanished in a swirl of light, leaving the berserking Asuna unarmed. The lost-to-madness girl did not falter much, punching her fists forward at Takahata, each thrust unleashing a compressed "bullet" of _Kankahō_, packing the force of a pair of tank-cannon shots. Takahata dodged the first one by a hair, whooshing past his head and blasting into the wall several meters behind him. The second hit him dead-on in the chest, blasting him backward with the sound of breaking ribs. Takahata landed on his back several feet away, gasping for air. Berserk-Asuna stepped forward, standing over him and staring down at him with cold, lifeless eyes. She raised her fist, charging it with _kanka _and preparing to smash it down into his head.

"Void Prison!"

Space-time warped and distorted, as Shion's power commanded the Void to bend to her will, encapsulating Asuna. Just as Asuna's power managed to break the technique, Teana had ran up and now latched on, her superhuman strength restraining the warped-mind girl.

"Get a fucking grip on yourself!" she yelled, as Ahsoka, Mai, and both Kaedes ran up to assist in restraining the thrashing girl. Ahsoka put a hand to Asuna's forehead, and began forcing the Light Side of the Force through Asuna's mind, the calming light extinguishing the unnatural anger and then returning Asuna's primary persona to dominance. Light returned to Asuna's eyes and she ceased her struggles, looking around in silent confusion. Then she looked down in horror at the battered Takahata; the man's shirt had been blown open by the "_Kankahō _Cannon", revealing his bare chest… with the marks of a serious wound in the center, along with the jagged tip of a broken rib sticking a little ways through the skin.

"Not fatal" he struggled to wheeze out. "Rib shards all missed my heart. Think you punctured a lung, though, Asuna-kun."

Asuna began trembling horribly as she remembered being told about her "Berserk State" where she nearly killed Setsuna in the tournament… and realized that she was responsible for nearly killing Takahata-sensei. She went pale and her legs began to buckle, as Kaede (Nagase) pulled her into a hug, and then lifted her off the ground, carrying her bridal-style. Asuna buried her face in Kaede's neck, ashamed and horrified at herself, and unwilling to face the others at the moment. Teana took a good, long look at the situation, and then sighed and beckoned the others to follow down the next path.

As the group ran through the final tunnel, they could now see the faint glow of the World Tree roots running along the ceiling.

"We're almost there!" Setsuna called out.

Soon enough, they all reached a massive room with an ancient and arcane platform standing in the center of the room. All around them, the vibrant glow of the World Tree's roots illuminated the area as if it were daylight. Kaede N. gently lowered Asuna to her feet, and the large group moved on toward the center of the massive platform. All of a sudden, there was a roar, and as they all ran to the center a massive dragon came out through the massive doorway on the other side of the room, bellowing out a fearsome roar at the intruders.

"Kid, whatever you're gonna do, DO IT NOW!-!-!" Teana shouted at Negi. Negi pulled out the Cassiopeia and hit the primary button. Magical energy was siphoned off of the World Tree's roots, and in a whirl of space-time the whole group was sucked up, disappearing totally.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**June 22****nd**

**7:30 PM**

**Mahora Academy**

In a flash of light, several people appeared in the air.

"Hey, look! It's still the Festival! We did it!"

"All right!"

…And then they looked down, spotting the ground 8,000 meters below them.

"What the hell?-!"

"Oh, fu-"

And then gravity took hold, and they all began to plummet; Teana shouted over to Marie "As soon as this shit's done, and IF we survive this, you and I are learning how to fly!"

As they fell, Ahsoka called upon the Force and Shion upon Templar powers, both acting to slow the group's descent. As they neared the ground, Negi cast a powerful Wind-type spell that brought them all safely down… and then collapsed from exhaustion, having used a fairly large chunk of his mana in activating the Cassiopeia, which now had a crack in it. Konoka walked over and scooped Negi up, easily carrying the boy thanks to the basic strength-enhancement magic she'd learned recently. The group split into two, one to get Negi to a place to rest and the other to inform Headmaster Konoe and the other mages of the situation.

-_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"So that's our situation, sir" finished Shion, as she and several others stood before the Headmaster, Colonel Holland, and several others.

"Hmm…" the old man stroked his chin. "Quite the conundrum. I thank you for bringing it to our attention. Now, you can-"

"Lemme stop you right there, gramps" Chamo cut in. "We've seen what happens when you guys try to handle things on our own. We're helping out in this one, like it or not."

"And how do you propose we deal with what's coming without causing mass panic, Mr. Chamo?" Col. Holland said.

The ermine-fey grinned. "We've got it all planned out. We need to bring the _Starshot _in kinda close and link it to the World Tree's mana supply, and then…"

As the little fuzzy fey continued to outline the plan, the teachers found themselves agreeing, amazed by how it sounded.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

I know this chap's a little short, but it was either that or make you guys wait even longer. The next chapter probably won't take QUITE as long, but there are still two BIG reasons why you're probably in for a bit of a wait. The first, and most important, is that I'm deliberately taking Book 5 slow so as to give Negima canon time to properly advance, to lessen the chance that I'll overtake it AND so I don't end up making something up that violently clashes with something that gets revealed later on.

The second reason is that, after all this time of hearing other people praise them, I just got Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2; my time will thus be occupied more than a little.

…Ah, Jack Rakan, you awesome, invincible ham. Is there anything that "a little bit of spirit" _can't _do?


	9. Battle of Mahora

"Ah yes. "Chapter Updates" – the promised continuation of a story. We have dismissed that claim."

Dismiss _this_, you son of a bitch! (Man, I hope that, or something like it, is a dialogue option in ME3; maybe seeing a Reaper (or two… or ten…) on his front doorstep will shut that arrogant bastard up. But I digress)

Now, having finished "Rise of the Phoenixes" and also finished the Campaigns of _Mass Effect _(plus _Bring Down the Sky _DLC), _Mass Effect 2 _(plus all the DLCs), and _Gears of War 3 _(I'll never again be able to hear Gary Jules' "Mad World" without feeling sad…), we now return to your regularly scheduled story.

Also, another reason I'm taking it slow with Book 5 is because I'm waiting for Negima manga canon to progress further, so I don't end up putting something into this fic that a later canon reveal invalidates.

STARTING "POLL":

Via reviews, I want you all to "vote" on something: whether, during the eventual Governor's Ball arc in the Magic World, Teana and Marie wear tuxedoes like Kaede N. and Setsuna, or if our tomboyish girl warriors have to wear fancy/girly dresses like most of the other girls.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**June 22****nd**

**8:15PM**

**Mahora Academy**

Yūna anxiously awaited to see what exactly this new festival game entailed. So far, she knew that they were supposed to be fighting off a "Martian Robot Invasion". People would be given a certain amount of "lives" to start with; if they did well enough, they'd steadily earn more lives, but if they lost all their lives they were out of the game. They were saying that something _big _was planned. Considering the huge and extraordinarily realistic hologram of a big starship that had appeared over the campus/city out of thin air, she was inclined to believe them.

On the bridge of the _Starshot_, people worked frantically to get things moving. The ship had disengaged its cloaking device after positioning itself directly over Mahora, and thankfully they had been passed off as a hologram or something thanks to the powerful "Suspension of Disbelief" magic enveloping the campus-city. The ship had now successfully tapped into the World Tree's abundant supply of magical energy, and with it they had set up, all around the campus-city, a system of battlefield-wide teleportation fields, weapon "spawn-points", "pickups", and (to certain screened individuals) distributed HUDs and low-grade energy shields, and various other little things. Due to the "Sod Field", the ship's troops and supplies could participate if they wished, and the students would merely pass them off as "holograms" or "guys in suits"; thus, soldiers, weapons, and vehicles of the UNSC, Sangheili Alliance, Raynor's Raiders, and Phoenix League (all modified to fire magically-non-lethal rounds for this event) were now deploying groundside.

A communication was received from Colonel Holland, who was currently in the headmaster's office, while at the same time the campus' PA system announced the start of the "game".

Down below, Yūna felt a rush of light and sound; when it faded, she had light armor on, with energy-shield projectors on her forearms and calves, and a Heads-Up Display visor over her eyes displaying shield status, a motion tracker, and ammo count for the two pistols she currently held. In her earpiece, she heard something that, as an avid FPS player, got her blood pumping: the familiar voice of Jeff Steitzer:

"Firefight – Set Start"

Yūna readied her guns, gave a huge, fiendish grin, and moved out.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

In another sector of the campus, a squad of ODSTs waited as their squad leader for this mission finished his preparations. The fact that he wasn't ODST did not lessen his status in their eyes, for they knew what he was capable of. They watched as he readied his DC-15 rifle and twin pistols, his white and blue armor pristine in the moonlight.

"All right, boys" Rex said to the squad. "Let's scrap these clankers."

"Sir, yes sir!"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The battle soon kicked into high gear. The magitech battle droids that made up Chao's forces clashed against the unlikely alliance of the _Starshot_'s forces and the oblivious-to-the-true-nature-of-things students of Mahora Academy. Koprulu-Terran Siege Tanks and Sangheili Wraiths bombarded heavy walkers and concentrations of foot-soldier droids with indirect fire; Warthogs and Centaurs raced about, blasting any hostile droid in their sights; Hornets, King Ravens, and Banshees (both the Koprulu ASM craft called Banshees and the Sangheili ground-attack craft called Banshees) flew through the sky, providing air support; and Commander Cody commanded the defenses around the World Tree and the infirmary, expertly coordinating the safeguarding of these "bases".

When the enemy brought out "time-displacement bullets", the _Starshot_'s link with the World Tree made being hit by one merely transport the afflicted to a designated "spawn point" while docking one "life" from their total; if they hit zero, the rounds performed their intended purpose.

Gamma 2, 3, 5, and 6 were out in the field as "Hero Units", lending their considerable capabilities to the cause. Shion, especially, was anxious for the chance to try out the new weapons systems she'd recently installed into her arm-mounted blade-projector device. Soon enough, a pair of Chao's magitech droids came charging toward her. She dodged their shots, pointed her armored right arm at them, and sent the mental command. A barrage of full-auto greenish plasma bolts shot out at high velocity, taking the two droids down. The plasma repeater function worked well. Another one came up, this one possessing energy shields that were shrugging off the magic bolts fired by the three students near her. She focused, and a ball of electromagnetically-charged plasma built up and then fired. Upon impact, it completely stripped the shields of the droid, allowing the students to gun it down. "Overcharge Shot" was a go. Then, a larger droid sauntered up, firing a shot that knocked the students on their asses, draining their low-strength shields. Shion pointed her arm-device at it, concentrated, and a glowing green sphere, as large as an Overcharge shot but visually (and audibly) different, built up. She fired, and two glowing green bolts flew through the air, noticeably slower than regular bolts, and adhered to the droid, detonating explosively a second later. The now-scrapped droid toppled.

"And that's the plasma launcher" Shion said to herself. "Three for three."

All across the campus, the defending forces held the line against Chao's droid army. As Negi's group sought out Chao, Teana successfully protected Negi's girls from Mana's time-bullet sniping, and engaged her fellow markswoman in a sniping duel. After nearly half an hour of it, Mana had a shot. She fired, aiming a time-displacement round at Teana's head. It hit…

…and 'Teana' dissolved into fuzz.

"An illusion clone?" Mana said in alarm, shortly before a barrage of well-placed long-range Crossfire Shots hit spot-on, destroying her remaining ammunition stores and also wrecking her rifle.

"Hmph. Well played, Lanstar."

Yūna, wielding the shotgun she'd picked up, blasted down two more droids that got too close to a pair of stunned kids.

"Buck Wild" the announcer's voice chimed in her earpiece. She grinned. She then saw a chokepoint with a large squad of droids heading for it. She got into cover, waited for them to get into position, and then threw out a trio of EMP grenades, frying their systems.

"Killionaire"

"Woo!" Yūna shouted. "I'm on a roll!"

Meanwhile, Negi had finally managed to track Chao down, a few thousand feet _above _Mahora. Mounted on his staff, he now engaged her in battle, using his Cassiopeia to counter hers as he fought the power-armored, time-bullet-spamming teen. Soon, a blimp showed up on the scene, Teana and several of Negi's group watching from the flat open-air top deck. They watched as Negi successfully fended off a huge barrage of Chao's time-displacement rounds.

"Please, Chao!" he called out. "Enough! You can't beat me without magic, and I don't wanna fight you anymore!"

"…Without magic, eh?"

Teana's Sharingan were active, and she thus gasped lightly as she read the movements of Chao's lips, and saw the power beginning to flow through her… magical power.

"_To Sumbolaion Diakoneto Moi, Ho Turanne Phlogos…_"

Negi hovered in dumbfounded shock, as he felt a sudden _huge _surge of magical power from Chao. Teana was shocked for a different reason, having recognized the first four words of the incantation as the herald for a "High Ancient" spell, mentioned in Dean Konoe's lecture to her on Vetus magic's workings.

"_Epigenetheto, Phlox Catherseos, Phlogine Romphaia…_"

The air looked to twist and writhe in Chao's presence, the ambient temperature beginning to rise rapidly in the area directly in front of her now-outstretched hands, which were 'pointed' towards Negi.

"_Rheusanton, Pur Kai Theion, Ha Epephlegon Sodoma, Hamartolous Eis Choun Thanatou_…"

Negi immediately snapped to and conjured up the strongest shield spell he could muster. A red-and-black Vetus magic circle sprang to life under Chao's feet, and power continued to build rapidly in front of her, mana being converted to elemental energy. Teana's crimson eyes watched in shocked fascination.

"Brace yourself, Negi-bozu… _OURANIA PHLOGOSIS!-!_"

For a second, there was nothing. But then, a tiny pinprick of light transformed into an utterly massive torrent of tightly focused flame, cutting through the night sky at a very high speed, its concentration making it resemble a raw-mana beam attack such as Divine Buster and its ilk. This was "Burning Sky", the third most powerful spell in the entire Vetus system of magic.

Negi's shield spell held for several seconds, but then failed under the S+-rank onslaught, and only his personal protective magic field (the kind all mages have active 24/7 barring extremely rare circumstances) kept him from being incinerated. He was left gasping for breath, visibly singed as he regained his balance on his levitating staff. He funneled magic into his eyes, focusing on Chao… and gasped in shock.

To a mundane, there wouldn't have been much to see, but with magical 'Second Sight', Negi could plainly see the glowing, intricate pattern of runes covering Chao's entire body. Teana's Sharingan, trained to pick up magic, saw them as well, but Negi, ever the magic scholar, was the one to recognize them. And he was horrified.

"Chao… Those are…"

"Magic-enforcement-and-amplification runes" Chao finished the boy's sentence. "They force power from and through my otherwise-inept Linker Core, to enable me to use magic. Extremely complex to install in someone, and also quite illegal due to the short- and long-term damage to the body of the person they're being applied to."

"Who… Who did this to you?"

"…I did it to myself."

"_What?-!_" shouted Negi, as did Teana (causing the fellow spectators near her to jump in surprise and look confusedly at her).

"Why would you do such a thing to yourself?-!" Negi cried out.

"Because I had no choice" Chao replied in a low tone. "It was this or be unable to help anybody I cared about. Only… even after I got these, the people I cared about still all died, just 17 among the 20,000 casualties of that week alone. Now, I use them because this… this plan is _everything _to me. I have far more at stake here than you could possibly imagine. If this plan doesn't succeed, lots ofpeople will _die_."

"There has to be another way!" Negi shouted. "If you use those like this, you could die! And, if this plan goes through, people's lives will be _ruined_! The staff at this Academy will never be able to see their loved ones again! I'll… I'll never be able to find my father!"

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

"…I guess… Master was right. I can't always be the good guy. Chao… I'm sorry, but… I cannot back down on this. It's not an option for me."

"…So be it."

Soon, the _Sagitta Magica _bolts were flying, magic-charged physical strikes were being exchanged, and a clash of ideologies was in full swing in the skies over Mahora.

"Invincible!"

Down below, Yūna grinned as she hit her 100th kill without 'dying'. She hurried along to help reinforce a chokepoint that led to a road to the infirmary, setting up camp to some guys in ODST armor. Along with… Yūna stared. The individual she was looking at caught her gaze.

"What?" Chen S-Yar said. "Not _all _of us sided with the Prophets."

After several seconds, Yūna simply shrugged and got back to preparations. 'This game is pretty high-tech, to have this kind of VR and holographic stuff…' she thought.

Back in the skies above, the battle was building to a crescendo. Negi and Chao, both rather drained, readied their strongest attacks against each other.

"_To Sumbolaion Diakoneto Moi, Ho Turanne Phlogos…_"

"_Veniant Spiritus Aeriales Fulgurientes…_"

"_Epigenetheto, Phlox Catherseos, Phlogine Romphaia…_"

"_Cum Fulgurationi Flet Tempestas Austrina…_"

"_Rheusanton, Pur Kai Theion, Ha Epephlegon Sodoma, Hamartolous Eis Choun Thanatou_…"

"_Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens_!"

"_Ourania Phlogosis_!"

By the time Chao had finished her spell's incantation, Negi's spell was already nearly two-thirds of the way between him and her; she had to pour more power than usual to push it back to the center, and a beam-of-war was now in progress. Both combatants poured everything they had into this clash.

Suddenly, Chao felt like something snapped. There was a split-second surge of incomparable pain throughout her whole body, and then her body went numb. She felt as the large amounts of magic being forced through and from her by the runes abruptly vanished completely, her fire spell quickly being washed away by Negi's oncoming attack. Her Linker Core had been overstrained beyond the safe point, and as a result the implant system that enabled her to use magic had been shut down completely to avoid fatal magic burnout of her body and Core.

Negi's spell hit dead-on; it had been weakened to just below fatal strength by fighting through what was left of Chao's fire spell, but it was still enough to ensure that she wouldn't be doing anything for quite a while. Unfortunately, as the spell faded, it was made clear that Chao's artificial magic had been all that was holding her up. She started drifting downward, and then began to plummet. After a few seconds, a hand caught her. She looked up, spotting an exhausted Negi balancing on his staff, her wrist clasped in his hand as he used his magic to hold them both up.

And then Negi succumbed to his own exhaustion and passed out, and they both started falling toward the earth. With her last bit of strength, Chao pulled the unconscious boy close and used what little of her magical power that wasn't dependent on those runes, prepared to safeguard his life at the cost of her own.

'My dream…' she thought to herself, 'is now out of reach forever. But… I can at least ensure that Negi lives to strive toward his.'

In her impaired state, Chao did not see nor hear the LAAT/I dropship flying alongside them, getting in close and matching speed, nor did she feel as Commander Cody reached out and pulled the both of them inside to safety, and then as the dropship flew back up to the waiting blimp.

Five minutes later, the blue glow that had been steadily building up in the World Tree suddenly turned green, the forced-recognition magic shifting to an entirely different spell. The new spell pulsed outward, racing across the planet – 24 hours without hatred or bloodshed anywhere on the Earth. Chao was a girl of her word, after all.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

As Chao happily observed the chaos that her family tree book had wrought amongst Negi's students/admirers, she finished up and prepared to leave.

"Miss Lingshen"

She stopped at the authoritative male voice. She turned to look, spotting the uniformed figure of Col. Holland approaching, flanked by a group of soldiers carrying a large case that was easily the size of two men.

"I have a few questions for you, regarding where & when you came from. Now, I understand that there's a lot that you'd rather not tell any of us about, and I respect that, but there are a few basic things I'd like to know."

"…What is it?"

"You've claimed that the tragedy you came back to this period to avert is no different than the world's usual, frequent mishaps. But I've seen plenty of bits of evidence that suggest you're lying in that regard."

Chao looked a tad nervous now.

"And your comment made during the fight against Negi, regarding thousands of casualties in a short period of time, and implying that said large losses are frequent when you come from. …Am I correct in assuming that the reason you came back to this time period was to prevent a war?"

"…Yes" Chao said quietly, after several seconds. Negi, Asuna, and Teana looked at her.

"How long has the conflict been going on, what's the scale, and what's the current fatality count?" Teana asked, prepared to compare it to the conflicts she'd been involved in so far.

"…Multi-planetary but still confined to the Sol System, it's been going on for at least 85 years, and the fatality rate, including both soldiers and civilians, is over six billion and still rising."

Asuna let out a horrified gasp, while Negi went pale. Teana and Holland, who had both seen the Human-Covenant War, which had a fatality count nearly four times that in less than a third the duration, simply felt grim confirmation of their suspicions.

"If my side loses…" Chao continued, "then it won't matter whether or not our enemy chooses to be merciful and take prisoners or let civilians live. We will all die. Every last man, woman, and child that they don't kill will still die, because Earth has no room for us but we still have nowhere else to go. I… can't say any more."

There was silence for a long while; even Negi's "Mundane" students were listening in (they had heard the whole thing, but believed it to be extremely-advanced-future-technology time travel, not magical time travel). Finally, the Colonel spoke.

"We can't stop a war that's taking place a century in the future… but we can give you some tools of war to further your odds of survival."

He gestured to the armored men carrying the case, and they walked forward, lowering it to the ground in front of Chao. It opened, revealing its advanced cargo to the girl – powered armor, weapons, med-tech, datapads containing loads of various data, and other things.

"This is some of our most advanced and capable tech. It should help to keep you alive long enough for us to find a way to stop the war before it starts."

"Th…Thank you, Colonel."

Chao then began to walk toward the jump point she would need to make the leap forward to her time period. She turned to look over her shoulder at her young ancestor.

"Do try and stay alive, Negi-kun" she said. "At least long enough that you and your wives can make me."

"…_Wives?-!_"

"…Oops"

And now all of Negi's admirers were consumed by their own wild thoughts as they tried to come to grips with the fact that fate itself had decreed they'd be sharing Negi. Negi himself, meanwhile, felt rather lightheaded, and couldn't explain the blush he now had.

The massive magic circle springing to life underneath Chao cut short the group's ruminations. She began to rise into the air, accompanied by her various gifts.

"Farewell, Negi-kun" Chao shouted. "You'll likely never see me again, as the odds are very high that I will die in battle just as my friends & family have. If you see the war approaching in this timeline, do everything in your power to stop it, no matter the cost in time, effort, or lives, so that the me of this timeline may experience the peace that I have never known and never will know. Goodbye."

There was a brilliant flash and pillar of light, and she was gone.

Negi stood, staring up into the starry sky for several seconds, before then lowering his head and closing his eyes, completely lost on what to do. He felt a hand on his shoulder, as Asuna then held him from behind.

"We'll find a way" she simply said.

The Mahora Festival came to its end.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Sorry if it's kind of a rush job, but I figured you guys would rather have something after so long a wait even if it was a little smaller than normal because of it. I confess that in-between the opening "this is why I'm late" of this chapter and this here end, I was sidetracked again by discovering another new series that caught my eye. I went into _MLP: Friendship Is Magic _expecting something more than the "girly kids' show" that it appeared on the surface to be. I was not disappointed in the slightest. (I think Dash is my favorite; you gotta admire a girl who can have rainbow-colored spiky hair and still be cool, not to mention the whole "physics-defying badass who can pull a Mach 1+, 1670-G turn" thing)


	10. Summer Vacation

This is mostly a collection of various happenings in-between the Mahorafest and the trek to Mundus Magicus. Enjoy.

Please don't forget to check out and add on to the Teana's Travels trope page, which also has a layout of planned future books if anyone wants to know.

The events here are in chronological order, but I could not come up with exact dates for them.

**JUST-IN-CASE DISCLAIMERS:**

YU-GI-OH (card game appears as plot-unimportant recreation) IS THE PROPERTY OF KONAMI

THE _KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC _SERIES IS THE PROPERTY OF LUCASARTS AND BIOWARE

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

In another place and time, a small, cylindrical object seemed to spontaneously float out of its case in the Imperial City Museum and then vanish into a small rift in space-time.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Anya Cocolova felt like her head was spinning. First she shows up to reclaim her Negi (wait, _her _Negi? She mentally slapped herself and hoped she wasn't blushing) only to get pulled into his little group. Then she finds out that six of them are interdimensional travelers. Then she finds out that several of the girls of Negi's class have breasts that make her flat-chested self feel _very _upset. Then she finds out that Negi has already formed Pactios with _eight girls_, and only Mai's quick explanations of how they were all either in mortal peril situations or were against his will stopped Anya from running off and trying to beat Negi senseless.

And now Haruna was finishing up one hell of a bombshell.

"…So that basically means that Negi-kun is literally _destined _to have a multitude of lovers! I can tell you have your eye on him, Anya-chan, so odds are good you'll be one of them! Ooh, we'll all have such _fun _together!"

Haruna then launched into a series of very, very racy situations that Anya could find herself in within such a situation, and after about a minute of that Anya literally fell over and tried to pass out, her face as red as her hair as an imaginary Negi did _things _to her with the help of a small army of girls.

Inside her own head, Haruna was laughing her ass off.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The object continued its tumble through the Void, pulled through time & space by its long-dead owner.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

As Ahsoka headed off to bed, the artificial night sky of the Resort overhead, she sensed as Haruna walked up beside her, and heard the rustling of a bag that the busty human teen was carrying.

"Hey Ahsoka-chan~" she said. "I've got a new present for you~."

Ahsoka stopped walking and turned to face her friend, a curious spark in her eyes and a light flush on her face. "What kind of… present?"

Haruna grinned, looked around to ensure that she and Ahsoka were the only ones around, and reached into the bag, pulling out a rectangular box about 10 inches long. She lifted the lid. Ahsoka blushed as she laid eyes on the little device, which was shaped like a "genuine article" (with a switch on the bottom) rather than a little egg-thing like her first "present".

"And you know what's cool about it?" Haruna whispered. "There was a routine physical about a month ago, and I managed to get hold of a bit of data, and then had this custom-made. This little beauty…" she leaned in close "is the exact shape & size as Negi-kun's."

It took a few seconds for this to sink in, but when it did, what parts of Ahsoka's face weren't naturally red blushed brightly, her eyes going very wide. Haruna still had her signature grin.

"Tonight, if you'd like…" the taller girl purred "I can… help you with it…"

After several seconds of still silence, the Togrutan teen reached a shaky hand out and placed the box back in Haruna's bag, and then grabbed hold of the bag in a way that her hand touched Haruna's. She then, seemingly in a bit of a daze, started walking back toward her room, pulling Haruna along with her. Haruna gleefully proceeded to start moving faster, and now she was pulling her lovely nonhuman friend toward the room. They went in, a soundproofing spell went up, and no-one heard from them until midway through breakfast the next morning.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The device exited the rift in reality just inside of Neptune's orbit. It began a slow tumble through space toward its destination.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

In a specially-prepared room in the Recreation Tech building of Mahora Academy, Teana and Shion stood on opposite ends of a large "playing field" equipped with an array of holograms. Each of them bore an angular-looking device on their forearm, with a deck of cards inserted.

Marie had been happy to discover that this game series existed in this timeline, and had introduced it to a few of the other Gamma girls just for the hell of it. Within less than half a year, Teana and Shion had both gotten rather good at it, building up fairly powerful decks. Now it was time for a friendly game to test skills and pass time.

Kaede, Marie, Mai, and Ahsoka stood on the sidelines, along with Negi, Kotarō, and several of 3-A's girls. The holographic field shimmered to life, and "6000" appeared next to both of the competitors.

Shion placed a monster in face-down Defense Position and ended her turn. Teana started off by summoning what looked to be a caped, green-armored elf warrior carrying a double-edged sword (Celtic Guardian – ATK/DEF: 1400/1200). She commanded it to attack, and it ran forward, bringing its sword down at Shion's face-down card in an overhead strike. However, the sword bounced off of the card with a sound of clanging metal, and Teana's life-points dropped down to 5700. The Defense Position card turned face-up, and the hologram changed to a large dark-green tank with a huge cannon on top and a red, horned, large-fanged, blue-eyed demon mask on the front (Oni Tank T-34 – ATK/DEF: 1400/1700).

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sad to say that this duel will not be described in detail. Because I suck at doing so. Horribly. I tried over and over again, but couldn't think up how to make it flow right or get the card drawing done right or get the back-and-forth "Who's in the lead at what point" working. Some authors can; I am most definitely not one of them. So I am sorry, but we'll be skipping straight to the end of the duel. Don't ask what happened between the start and finish, because I don't know either.)

Teana focused. Her Spirit Ryu was gone, slain by the mechanical titan currently standing between her and Shion (Machine King – ATK/DEF: 2200/2000). Standing beside the Machine King was a silver-white furred canid, fangs bared (Silver Fang – ATK/DEF: 1200/800). On Teana's side of the field were a nimble, golden-plated, eyeless dragon (Curse of Dragon – ATK/DEF: 2000/1500) in Attack Mode, and an armored turtle with a large gun-like device on its back (Catapult Turtle – ATK/DEF: 1000/2000) in face-up Defense Mode.

Shion was down to 2100 Life Points, while Teana was at 1750.

Teana drew her next card, and grinned as she saw what it was. She placed a monster face-up, and on the field appeared an infant black-hided dragon, still carrying a large fragment of its red eggshell (Red-Eyes Black Chick – ATK/DEF: 800/500). Next, she sacrificed her Curse of Dragon to her Catapult Turtle's effect. The golden-plated monster became a supersonic magic projectile that impacted Shion, taking her down to 1100 Life-Points. Then, she activated her Black Chick's special effect, sending it directly to the Graveyard to Special Summon the "mascot/figurehead" of her Deck – a massive, lean, black-armored dragon with piercing red eyes (Red-Eyes Black Dragon – ATK/DEF: 2400/2000). At Teana's command, the dragon reared back and then fired an explosive bolt of Dragon's Fire.

The attack hit dead-on, obliterating Shion's Silver Fang. 2400 minus 1200 is 1200, but Shion only had 1100 left before this attack. Thus, the Life-Point display for Shion hit 0 and turned from green to red, signaling her loss. Her Beast- and Machine-type deck had fallen to Teana's Dragon- and Warrior-type deck. Several of the crowd were cheering.

Both duelists stepped away from the field, walking over to the spectator area and meeting in the middle. Teana and Shion shook hands and then waved to the small crowd.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

It was passing through the Sol System's asteroid belt now, moving inexorably closer to where its old owner's spirit had telekinetically summoned it to.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

As per usual, there was a multi-person argument amongst 3-A's girls, with a few peacekeepers trying to break it up. At this point, the dialogue had "devolved" into the different people literally only saying the name of the person they were reacting to with varying tone.

"Asuna!"

"Ayaka~!"

"A-Asuna-san!"

"Negi-bozu!"

"Negi-sensei?"

"Ayaka-san…"

"Setsuna-san?"

"Secchan?"

"Kono-cha… Ojō-sama?"

"Negi-kun?"

"Ayaka-san!"

And so on. Among those sitting back and watching, Chisame had a slight urge that she wanted to test. She turned to Marie, who was sitting next to her.

"Wrex."

A small grin came up on Marie's face. "Shepard."

Chisame grinned as well. "Wrex."

"Shepard."

"Wrex."

"Shepard."

After about 10 more seconds of this, both girls started giggling quietly, having "bonded" in their own unique way. They bumped fists and then got back to watching the "fight".

About a minute later, Chizuru came in and broke up the fight using "The Stare" (perfected during her volunteer work as a kindergarten assistant), which caused all those involved to cringe with irrational, primal fear.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

As the gang did their own things in Eva's Resort, Marie was walking about when she found one of Haruna's sketchpads. Curious, she decided to look through it. As she sat down and flipped through the pages, she saw a couple sketches of the Resort landscape, some drawings of Negi or others training, a few… compromising images of a few people, and…

For a long time, Marie stared at the masterfully-crafted drawing she'd found.

In the drawing, Marie herself was asleep with a content smile on her face, her hair unbound as she slept holding on to Sarah, whose golden hair was also loose. Erika was on the other side, sleeping peacefully and curled up next to the eldest sister. Sarah had an arm around each of her two siblings; one eye was cracked open, looking down at her siblings, and a warm, loving smile was on her face.

A few tears dropped to the floor, shed by Marie for the situation that she felt could never come true.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

That night, Teana came within earshot of a heartfelt conversation between Kaede and Marie. She could hear Kaede's noticeably distressed voice, and listened closely.

"…I didn't care how many girls were in Rin-kun's life – 1, 2, 4, 8, 10; it didn't matter so long as I could be one of them! But he never accepted me! I devoted my life to him and he just tossed me aside as soon as that harpy Asa came into the picture! After everything I'd done for him! If… If I hadn't met you, Marie, I… I don't think I'd be here today; without you, I probably would've taken my own life once it sank in that… that the person I loved didn't love me back."

"Then thank God I'm here," Marie replied, "because I can't stomach the thought of you dying. And I hate seeing you sad. Come here."

"Marie~…"

Teana smiled and quietly snuck close enough to silently close the barely-open door before walking away; the two lovebirds didn't notice.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**SEVERAL DAYS (INSIDE THE RESORT) LATER**

Teana was a little worried, but she tried not to let it show. Evangeline had decided to "train" Asuna by throwing her into the "Icy Mountain" sector of the Resort. That was four days ago. Evangeline had _claimed _she'd be keeping an eye on the girl and would step in if things got too dangerous… but then why would Evangeline be here with them right now, overseeing Negi & Kotarō's sparring match?

"Come on, boys!" Eva shouted. "Loser has to go 10 minutes against _me_!"

Ahsoka was meditating nearby; several half-ton weights were levitating about her in slow orbits. The two Kaedes were having a contest to see who was more accurate with thrown _kunai_; Chamo was standing by quivering, because the targets for the contest were stuffed-toy replicas of him. Shion was sitting on a padded bench; Mai was using her lap as a pillow. The others were each doing their own thing.

Suddenly, there was a seemingly-sourceless blast of dark power in the center of the main platform; everyone dropped what they were doing and turned to see. It faded to reveal none other than Asuna, currently in a crouching position with her head down. There was a pitch-black aura seething around her, and bits of ice were visibly melting and vaporizing off of her.

"A…Asuna-san?"

The redhead's head rose, her eyes revealing her to be in her Berserk State. What's more, however, the irises were both golden, signifying Darkness corruption. Those eyes locked on to a shocked Evangeline, and there was suddenly a surge of powerful, unnatural Killing Intent that actually brought some of the weaker-willed individuals present to their knees, trembling. Faster than anyone could react, Asuna lunged at Evangeline with incredible speed, and the small immortal barely reacted in time, catching the Darkness-infused punch; the dissipated energy caused a shockwave that knocked those nearby off their feet. From Asuna's throat came an inhuman snarl. Evangeline repressed a quivering of fear; so this was what it was like being on the _receiving _end of this.

Evangeline grabbed Asuna by the arm and tossed her away; the berserk teen skidded to a stop on her feet several meters away. She thrust her palm out, and a nigh-invisible wave of power struck Evangeline like a cannonball, sending her tumbling through the air off of the platform. She righted herself, hovering over the long drop. Asuna summoned her massive sword, and then swung it forward at Evangeline; a wave of purple fire erupted from the blade, heading towards the _shinso _vampiress. Eva cast a shield spell that barely withstood the attack. Asuna then raised her hand, and a hunk of stone the size of herself levitated off the ground. She waved her hand forward, and the rock shot through the air towards Evangeline. Eva charged her fist with magic and struck the incoming projectile, shattering it. She formed a blade of super-hardened ice and then flew in, locking blades with the girl.

"You actually gave in to Darkness to survive my test?" she shouted. "Pathetic! If you can't even prove yourself under your own power, you don't deserve to be my disciple!"

Asuna's response was some hissing, reverberating "words" made in some ancient and tainted tongue; Evangeline felt her senses scramble and her head hurt upon hearing them. Her eyes widened; this wasn't just a person giving in to their own Darkness. Something else was at work here. She extended her magical senses, and sure enough she detected a second, malevolent presence influencing and partially controlling Asuna, artificially amplifying and focusing her dislike of Evangeline into open, murderous hatred.

She leapt away, landing several meters distant. It was at this point that Ahsoka finally recognized what she was sensing.

"Holy crap… Guys! She's using the Force! Asuna's using the Dark Side of the Force!"

Everyone reacted with appropriate shock. Teana and Shion then activated their respective energy blades, while Ahsoka's lightsaber snapped to life as well.

"Something's influencing and controlling her!" Evangeline shouted to everyone.

"Then we need to find out what it is and get rid of it!" Kotarō replied, taking a fighting stance.

Asuna turned to look at Ahsoka. The presence controlling her felt recognition – not of Ahsoka herself, but of her species… and of her weapon. Before it could react, however, Asuna snapped to a defensive stance to block a disabling strike from Shion. Shion reached out with her mind, expecting to startle the presence with her own Void affinity… only to feel shock upon feeling that the presence wielded the Void as well. …No… the presence _was _a Void, ringed with the Dark Side.

A powerful Force Push sent Shion flying, but she disappeared in a whorl of nonexistence and reappeared next to Teana. It was at this point that the skies faded and darkened (not quite to the extent of night-time), and a large, semi-transparent figure became visible, partially enveloping Asuna. This was the Dark Presence. At first, Evangeline and Chamo felt fear as they believed they were looking upon the Lifemaker. Then, that fear approached terror as they realized it was far worse. The figure – black cloak and red-marked white mask – stared out at the life-forms before it, its power flowing through its potential new host. Marie, Chisame, and Ahsoka went pale with fear – the former two recognizing this figure through a certain game, and the latter through Jedi history texts.

The object that had traveled through space and time tumbled out of the dark sky, landing in Asuna's outstretched hand.

Hungry for Life and impatient to ensure his rebirth, the disembodied spirit of the abomination known as Darth Nihilus commanded his thrall to attack. The Sith Archlord's old lightsaber sprang to life in Asuna's hand, and the semi-possessed girl attacked. After nearly 4,000 years, the most powerful Sith in all of history was again experiencing battle.

Mirage Longsword blocked the crimson chainsaw-esque blade of high-energy subatomic particles, Teana's Sharingan eyes staring through Asuna's and at Nihilus. The dark spirit felt slight confusion as he sensed the mysterious power in those eyes, but he put that confusion aside. Asuna leapt away from Teana, diving at Evangeline, who formed a small _Ensis Exsequens _around her arm to block the strike, entering into a fast duel with the possessed girl.

Ahsoka leapt in, aiming to hit the hilt of the red lightsaber, but the possessed Asuna sent out an omni-directional pulse of Force that sent Ahsoka and Evangeline flying. She then unleashed a burst of Force Lightning at the downed Ahsoka, only for Shion to intercept it, nullifying the deadly lightning with a tiny Void-Gate generated in front of her outstretched hand. With her other hand, Shion lashed out with a bolt of psionic energy that caused Asuna to stagger back, cutting off her Force Lightning attack. Negi hit Asuna with a Bind spell, hoping that Nihilus couldn't access her Magic Cancel, but after less than two seconds she broke free.

"Oh, no…"

Those within earshot heard Nodoka's proclamation and looked, noticing her looking at her _Diarium Ejus_.

"He's trying to get Asuna-san to give in to her hatred by killing Evangeline-san! If she does, he'll be able to fully take over her body and be reborn!"

"He won't get the chance."

The new voice caught several by surprise. Suddenly, a huge number of binds, glowing so bright it almost hurt to look at them, sprung up and wrapped around the possessed Asuna. The group turned to see who was responsible. Walking up from the platform that led to the outside world, Sebastian von Klaus advanced, his single arm outstretched with multiple magic circles hovering in front of it, his eyes glowing with power. Nihilus' spirit shouted in his horrible language, causing everyone's heads to hurt, but Klaus ignored it and continued forward, more binds springing up to contain the spirit and its vessel/captive.

Albireo Imma appeared in a flash of light. Both his hands rose, and several large and intricate magic circles came into being all around the possessed Asuna.

"Shion!" Albireo shouted. "Focus your Void powers and channel them into and through Asuna! Quickly!"

Shion complied, appearing in front of Asuna. Her eyes glowed green, and she thrust her palms forward, less than an inch from Asuna. Space warped as Shion called upon her power and forced it through Asuna. The teen was unharmed by this; Nihilus, however, roared in rage and pain. Shion kept pushing, assisted by Albireo's spells, while Klaus' binds kept Nihilus from harming anyone. Soon, there was a burst of dark power, and everyone sensed as Nihilus' unholy spirit was banished back to the netherworld.

The binds came undone, and Asuna collapsed to the ground, passing out. The lightsaber, deactivated, fell to the floor with her.

A little whole later, a mind-scan by Klaus revealed that Asuna's frustration and anger at Evangeline and her test had grown and grown to the point where Nihilus was able to take over Asuna. He thus suggested that Evangeline probably shouldn't be the one to handle Asuna's training. Teana, Setsuna, and Ahsoka ended up being named Asuna's trainers. It was revealed that Asuna's Force sensitivity was not a product of Nihilus' possession, and it was thus decided that she would be taught chakra- and Force-based techniques and such. Nihilus' old lightsaber remained; Ahsoka and Shion scoured it of dark-side taint and replaced the red crystal with a blue one.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Shion's mind continued to separate itself from reality as she delved deeper into meditation. She sought to connect to the energy source that the Protoss drew psionic power from, to connect to the 'Khala' and perhaps even make contact with spirits of deceased Protoss heroes, such as Fenix, Razhagal, or Tassadar. So she was very surprised to open her mind's eye to see a very-much-not-Protoss robed figure with green skin, all-black eyes, and several head-tails.

"Greetings" the ghost said with what sounded like a slight Jamaican accent. "Interesting for a Force-user so young to be able to make contact with a spirit of the departed like myself."

"…Force-user?" Shion said. "Oh, you… you must be mistaken. I wield the psionic powers taught to me by the Protoss."

"Feels like the Force to me."

"But… It can't be! The Force is something that not all members of any one species can use, and being able to wield it isn't necessary for life! But the Protoss' powers are inherent for the species; they use their powers to communicate since they don't have mouths, and also to operate their machinery, and even to survive since their photosynthesis is partially based on their powers."

The spirit of Kit Fisto reached into Shion's mind and memories, gleaming info on the Protoss (including the unique "feel" of their 'psionic powers'), getting a clearer picture of what she spoke of, and was astonished.

"Fascinating…" he said. "An entire species of Force-Sensitives, who actually _need _the Force to even survive. Truly fascinating…"

"…What."

The duo talked for a while longer. Eventually, they ran out of things to say.

"I'm going to go contact the spirits of the other fallen Jedi" Kit said. "And then we'll see if the spirits of the lost Protoss are here, too. Good luck in whatever destiny throws at you, Shion."

With a lurch, Shion felt herself return to the physical plane. She opened her eyes, and tried to process the revelation she'd been handed.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Teana's blade sliced through another three lesser demons, they joining the dozens of mindless summons that she had slain so far. All around her, the rest of Gamma Team and those of Ala Alba fought through scores of these small-fry. When these shadowy beings had started popping up in Mahora, Teana & Marie had been quick to cast the Dimensional Shift barrier that Teana had learned in her old TSAB training, separating those not in on the masquerade from the attack. The real problem was the bigger demon. It was about the size of a Scarab walker, and had shrugged off nearly everything thrown at it.

It lashed out with a punch from a huge fist, cratering the ground; the heroes barely avoided being crushed. Teana snarled and was about to hit the demon with _Amaterasu_, when she noticed a small, blond-haired figure flying up above the demon.

"**At long last, in this barrier separated from base reality, I have my full power!**" Evangeline's voice telepathically cried out. "**Now, watch and be amazed, all, as I vanquish this overgrown Halloween reject with a single spell – the very same spell with which I have vanquished the likes of **_**Ryōmen-Sukuna**_** and the Beast of the Book of Darkness!**"

"Oh, boy" Asuna said with a tad of worry. "I know what's coming. We'd better clear out, guys!"

As the gang (wisely) retreated, Teana watched Evangeline, as the eternal child began to incant the second-most powerful spell in the entire Vetus system of magic.

"_To Sumbolaion Diakoneto Moi, He Krustalline Basileia…_"

"This…" Asuna explained to Teana, "is the "That One Spell" we mentioned way back."

"_Epigenetheto, Taionion Erebos, Aionie Krustalle…_"

Nigh-instantly, the massive demon and its hundreds of smaller surrounding underlings were flash-frozen into ice as they were trapped within a bound field, at absolute-zero temperature.

"_Pasais Zoais Ton Ison Thanaton, Hos Ataraxia…_"

The group now stood several hundred feet away. Teana's Sharingan picked out details, and she was left shocked by just how complex and powerful it was. She knew that even though her Sharingan meant that she now technically knew how to do this spell, she'd never be able to – only the combination of Ice affinity and massive power & reserves that Evangeline (and perhaps Yagami-san back on Midchilda) had could pull this SS-rank spell off.

"_KOSMIKE KATASTROPHÉ!-!_"

They all watched as the huge demon and its underlings shattered on a molecular level. A strong gust of icy wind hit the onlookers, causing them to shield their eyes and brace themselves. After several seconds, it died down. They straightened up just in time for Evangeline to leisurely float down to them, a grin on her face.

"How was _that_?"

"…Yeah, I can see how you could beat the Wolks with that" Teana finally said, her eyes returning to normal.

Colors shifted as the Dimensional Shift barrier dissipated. Evangeline felt her power leave her, and glared at Teana.

"Hey, I set it to last until all the bad guys were gone."

Eva said nothing, only turned and walked away, trying to suppress the urge to childishly stomp away.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Next time, we get back to the main plot.


	11. A Whole New World

And now we get things rolling. In the time since last update, I got _Modern Warfare 3_ and played through all of campaign twice, got _Halo Anniversary _and got every single Achievement (except the three co-op ones, since none of my X-Box Live friends have the game, apparently), and learned that our financial situation is worse than I thought, and that we may soon lose the internet, the computer, the phones, and oh yeah _the fucking house_. So, if this chapter unexpectedly turns out to be the last update ever because we end up being evicted and homeless-ed, don't be too surprised. If that happens, I have sincerely enjoyed writing this story. If it doesn't, then I'll see you all next chapter-update.

Don't forget to check and add to the Teana's Travels TV-Tropes page.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Wales**

**August 12****th****, 2011**

Teana breathed in the cool, clean air as everyone walked across the slightly-hilly Welsh grass-field that led to Negi's hometown (well, second hometown). The flight to the UK from Japan had been uneventful; Gamma Team and Ala Alba had flown via passenger airliner, soon meeting up with most of the rest of 3-A who had taken Ayaka's garishly-painted private jet. Those members of the _Starshot_'s crew who were going along to Mundus Magicus had flown a more indirect route, relying on UNSC stealth-tech to avoid instrument detection and an Arctic flight to avoid visual detection; they would meet Ala Alba and Gamma at the gateport.

Teana was drawn out of her ruminations when a young woman with golden-blond hair came running. Negi's response identified her as Nekane, Negi's cousin, and everyone was then treated to the sight of their hyper-mature preteen teacher actually acting his age, running joyously to his beloved "_onee-chan_" and leaping into her arms. …And then the sight of _him _swinging _her _around in joy, to the surprise of Nekane and many of the non-Ala-Alba students.

General introductions were made, and everyone gathered at Nekane's rather spacious home for a feast. That evening, Teana and Negi explained to Nekane exactly what they were planning to do. Nekane, of course, flipped out, but Negi's old headmaster gave him the go-ahead.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**MM Gateway Europe West**

**Wales**

**August 14****th****, 2011**

The group gathered amidst the Stonehenge-esque stones that marked the gateway between worlds. Ala Alba was joined by Gamma Team, Rex & Cody, Zhal Arum, Erohn Kilkar, and Yayap, along with four other Sangheili, eight other Unggoy, and six ODSTs (the nonhuman guests and Ahsoka hidden by their "don't-notice-my-oddness" magical cloaks). Several other travelers joined them, each with their own innocent reasons to head to Mundus Magicus.

The stones began to glow, resonating with each other, and soon a brilliant flash and multiple extremely complex magic circles sprang into existence. All within the transfer field disappeared, being pulled into another dimension.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Terra Gateport 5**

**Mundus Magicus**

**August 14****th****, 2011**

The large group took in the sights around them as they came to the primary terminal. Most of their weapons had been temporarily confiscated and sealed into a magical storage box while background checks were performed, but several weapons were successfully snuck by on the basis that the security personnel failed to recognize them as weapons: Cross Mirage (inactive in Card Form), Charon (inactive in Gauntlet Form), Shion's psionic blade (built in to her arm-guard), Ahsoka's lightsabers, the Elites', Mai's, and Rex & Cody's plasma swords and the Elites' wrist-mounted plasma daggers, and the plasma grenades carried by many. The big group was at first divided into two upon arrival, but Mai quickly fetched the group containing the Library Trio, Kazumi, Sayo, and Chisame, and a few others, and led them to the main group.

"Uh, Negi?" Rex called out to the boy. "We got a problem."

Negi followed the sound of Rex's voice, only to see five of his own students – Ako, Akira, Yūna, Makie, & Natsumi – surrounded by a trio of guards. Negi and several of the others had looks of varying degrees of panic, but Ahsoka sighed, rose her hand to signal them to calm down, and walked up to the minor fiasco.

"It's okay, guys" she said to the guards. "These four all have decent magical potential, and this is pretty much how most of our group got introduced to us. …The rules say that as long as they don't go blabbing to the world about magic, Negi won't be in trouble, right?"

"Wait" Akira said. "Negi-sensei, in trouble?"

"If you can call being turned into an ermine for several years while the entirety of Mahora has their memories of having ever known him permanently wiped from their minds 'trouble'."

The four girls went pale. Natsumi made a 'zipper-shut' motion over her lips.

The cloaked girl sighed. "Long story short, girls: magic is real, Negi is an absurdly talented mage, this is a separate planet in a parallel realm, and we're here to find clues to the whereabouts of Negi's obscenely powerful and famous father, who's been MIA for over six years but is confirmed alive.

"Another thing: we – that is, me, Teana, Shion, Kaede Fuyō, Marie, and Mai – aren't from this universe. We're all from different realms of existence, though Marie & Mai are from the same Earth, and we've gotten together to tour the realms and help out wherever and however we can when we find trouble. Those other five, you wouldn't recognize, but…"

With that, Ahsoka lowered her hood, the sight of her distinctive and familiar visage triggering a jaw drop in Yūna, Ako, and Makie.

"There are indeed realms out there" Ahsoka said "that have fictional counterparts in other realms."

She signaled to the many concealed or cloaked figures behind her. Rex, Cody, and the ODSTs came out of hiding, and the Elites & Grunts shed their cloaks. Yūna stumbled back, almost fainting.

"…Wait…" Yūna said after several seconds. "That Skirmisher, during the festival…"

"That was Chen S'Yar" Ahsoka replied, "leader of Talon Squad, who are some of the foremost experts in Flood-killing in the entire Covenant – and, later, the Sangheili Alliance."

Negi relaxed, allowing a tiny smile to come over his face. It looked like things were going to turn out okay after all. Thank whatever deity or deities that watched over him for Ahsoka.

And then the Killing Intent made itself known.

Several of the group froze up briefly, looking around as they sensed the hostile intent.

'Something's very wrong…' Negi thought. 'This feeling… This energy… I've felt it before…'

"N-Negi-kun?" Makie said. "What's wrong?"

Negi said nothing, his head on a swivel as he tried to pinpoint the feeling.

"There is a powerful hostile intent in the air" Zhal Arum spoke to the four, looking around. "I can feel it in my bones. We are all in serious danger here."

"What are you talking about?" one of the guards said. Ahsoka gave him a look.

"You mean you can't sense Killing Intent?" she asked. "There's someone hidden here. Someone powerful… and they're not friendly."

In twin flashes of red and violet light, Teana and Marie appeared in their Barrier Jackets, Mirage Longsword and Charon Cannon at the ready. Shion's arm blade sprang to life, followed shortly thereafter by Ahsoka's lightsabers. Mai, Rex, Cody, and the Sangheili all activated their plasma swords. The Grunts started chattering nervously; Yayap, in the Unggoy native tongue, barked at them to maintain focus and discipline. The guards were too nervous of the tall, imposing Sangheili to risk trying to confiscate the weapons.

As Negi and Teana started issuing orders, a robed figure watched from above.

"They detected me? Hm. You surprise me, Negi-kun. I guess it can't be helped. They can't be allowed to leave… or to live. Δορυ Πετρας (_Doru Petras _{Spear of Stone})!"

Everyone's heads turned to the direction of a sudden, sickening sound. Time seemed to flow in slow motion as Negi stumbled forward, blood already starting to drip from the arm-thick spear of stone that had been impaled through the right side of his chest; bits of his ribs and lung were on the ground in front of him. When he fell to his knees and toppled over, that's when the panic set in.

"NEGI!-!-!-!"

Many of the group immediately gathered around the fallen boy. Blood was quickly pooling underneath him. Ahsoka stood still, wide-eyed and frozen in place, trembling and pale. Mai ran hands glowing with a diagnostic jutsu over Negi's body.

"I don't think I can heal someone else's wounds of this magnitude" she reported, her voice quivering.

"Konoka-san!" Kaede Nagase called to the nearby healer, her eyes wide open and focused.

"M-My Pactio card…" Konoka whimpered, looking at the sealed box currently in Setsuna's possession… one that nobody present could unlock.

"Don't worry" one of the gateport guards said. "One of our best healers is en route. We'll save the boy."

"Look up there!" one of the ODSTs pointed to a higher-up platform, which was now crackling with magical energy being charged. After a few seconds, several powerful bolts of lethal magic lanced out and streamed down toward the group. Several defensive barriers went up, protecting most of the people, but the two gateport guards and one of the Unggoy did not survive the strike. The six girls of Gamma Team, judged suspicious by the attackers, found themselves encapsulated in a barrier-prison field. A bolt of raw magic was heading straight for Ako, only to be intercepted by Zhal Arum's body, his energy shields flashing as they harmlessly dissipated the bolt, being drained by ½ in the process.

"W…Wha…" Ako stammered.

"Many years ago" Zhal said to the girl, "I had a daughter who was much like you, Izumi. She died because I wasn't fast enough to save her from danger. I will _not _let such a thing happen again."

"Long time no see," a smooth male voice called out, "Negi Springfield and company." A small (10-year-old size) cloaked figure floated to the ground on the other side of the platform. "I'm surprised to encounter you here, of all places. Though it seems you've overextended yourselves. To be in such a state after a mere one of my attacks… perhaps not unprecedented for such inefficient power."

Three more figures appeared, flanking the boy – a girl with twin swords, blond hair, and a pink-and-white frilly dress, a mysterious, child-sized figure completely hidden by an elaborate cloak; and a very tall, masked man with a six-tailed headdress and long, flowing robes.

"Don't you think so? Negi-kun?"

"W-Who is _that_?" one of the ODSTs muttered. Setsuna's angry response answered, Teana recognizing the name from the Dean's records:

"Fate… Averruncus!"

Setsuna, Kotarō, and Kaede Nagase charged; in response, the tall figure and the pink-clad one rushed forward as well, targeting Kaede and Kotarō, respectively. Setsuna fired a _ki _blast at Fate, who summoned a wall of stone spears that blocked the attack. A barrage of huge, summoned black-and-violet blades was launched with a wave of the tall one's hand, which Kaede narrowly dodged, while the pink one – now identified as the rogue swordsgirl Tsukuyomi whom Setsuna encountered in Kyōto – used her sword to block a bone-crushing punch from Kotarō. Averruncus blocked several blows from Setsuna and then retaliated, just three of his own hits knocking Setsuna for a loop. Meanwhile, Tsukuyomi's twin blades spun and then glowed with a pink light, flower petals forming from ambient magic and heeding her call, while from one of the launched sword-spears a series of black tendrils formed, encasing Kaede and then shrinking rapidly as the tall man completed a hand-seal sequence.

"_Tsukimi no Yozakura_ (月見乃夜桜)!"

"Μελαν Και Σφαιρικον Δεσμωτηριον (_Melan Kai Sphairikon Desmoterion _{Black Sphere Prison})"

A battered and bloody Kotarō landed in a heap, and a pitch-black sphere the size of an eyeball landed with a 'clink' near him. The others stared in horrified shock as two of their strongest fighters were taken out effortlessly.

"W…W… Who the hell are you people?-!" Asuna shouted. "What do you want? Have you been following us?"

"Following you?" Fate replied. "Don't be ridiculous. Meeting you all here… was a complete coincidence. …It seems that the humans of your 'Academy' have taken extreme care in supervising your safety and any information about you. Even I did not know you were coming to this realm, let alone that we would meet here & now. That such circumstances present themselves is truly ironic. …Our objective is this place. This time, all of you are completely unrelated."

"So how the fuck does that translate into trying to murder us?-!" Marie shouted from within Gamma's prison-barrier.

"And you have not the courage to even face the strongest of us in a fair fight" Kilkar snarled, seething with paternal anger. "Despicable."

Fate looked at them. "Ah, so the rumors were true – extra-planar travelers, along with extraterrestrial ones. And your power feels strong; it seems I was right in having Lady Grave-Keeper have you all removed from the picture."

He sighed.

"What an unfortunate turn of events. I never thought that Negi-kun would notice us. However, now that we have been noticed, we have no choice. We cannot allow for your reinforcements to be called. To put it simply, nobody will be coming to save you. This place is now completely isolated from Earth and from outside this facility."

Setsuna, wounded, sat against a stone pillar sticking up from the ground, glaring at the pale-haired boy.

'I can... still fight…' she thought, 'but this much… Kaede and Kotarō are… gone… and Teana-san and her squad are sealed… We can't do anything. And Negi-sensei's wound is still… I don't know… what to do…'

'What do I do now?' Asuna thought. 'It's already been two minutes; one more and we can't save Negi. If I don't have my sword, I can't do anything… I…'

"Negi-kun" Averruncus spoke up again. "Your comrades… To us, they are nothing more than refuse, especially now. I cannot find any meaning in killing them, but at the same time I also have no reason not to. …Here's an idea. I'll use my Eternal Petrification, and have them exit the stage permanently."

His left index finger began to glow, and he pointed behind him.

"Sakurazaki-san, you'll be first…"

There was a sudden blur of unexpected movement, as Negi used the spear he'd just pulled out of his own chest as a club, smashing it into the side of Fate's skull. The other boy went tumbling several meters, landing on his feet. Blood streamed down from the right side of his head, and he knew that his skull had been fractured; were he not a construct, this wound would be crippling or even fatal. He glared daggers at the stubborn boy before him.

"I will not…" Negi wheezed out "…allow that. _I _am your enemy."

"…Honestly. You'll die; you know that, right? If you perished, it would be troublesome for me. Furthermore, what can you do without your staff or Artifacts?"

There was a sudden loud crack, which drew everyone's attention. Asuna had just punched down into the storage box, putting her anti-magic into the blow. The box began to fracture, light shining from within… and then it shattered. Weapons and Pactio cards went flying, each one magically returning to its owner. There was another sound, a bizarre one that defied explanation, as Teana finally gave up on lesser, less-energy-intensive moves and used _Kamui _to destabilize and shatter the prison-barrier holding her and the rest of Gamma Team, her eyes returning to standard Sharingan once this was done. In several flashes of light, Asuna, Konoka, Ahsoka, and Haruna summoned their Artifacts.

"Kono-chan!" Asuna shouted. "Get to Negi and heal him! We probably don't even have 30 seconds left!"

"O-Okay, but Asuna… I can't heal a wound of that magnitude unless I can make physical contact with him!"

"Got it! Leave it to us! Kū Fei, cover me!"

"Got it –aru"

A blur of movement, and Averruncus was amongst them, fingers glowing.

"Pardon me, milady. Πνοη Πετρας (_Pnoe Petras _{Breath of Stone})!"

There was a burst of dust and light… which faded to reveal a set of pink-tinged white wings surrounding Konoka. They lifted, revealing an angry – and now armed – Setsuna.

"You will not harm her!-!"

Setsuna raised her hand, and the 16 magical daggers that were her Artifact formed floating in front of her. She waved her sword, and they all shot out at Fate; he dodged, and they tracked him, keeping him busy. Just after that stopped, he narrowly avoided a decapitating strike from Ahsoka. Up close, he could see that her fangs were bared and the sclera of her eyes had turned golden-yellow, tapping into the Dark Side over her rage at he who had left 'her' Negi on death's door. It was only because of her rage slightly affecting her skills that he managed to narrowly avoid the following strikes, and when she lashed out with a burst of Force Lightning he barely managed to catch it in his palm and throw it elsewhere.

"You're quite skilled," he said to her, "and your anger is strong as well, but… without proper discipline and focus, anger _dulls _one's blade."

He then lashed out with a kick to her midsection, sending her flying several meters, only to skid to a stop on her feet. Setsuna then charged in again, her lightning-chakra-charged sword easily cleaving through the stone shield Fate conjured and then slicing Fate himself in two, only for the bisected boy to dissolve into water.

"_Mizu Bunshin_?"

Setsuna sensed as the real Fate appeared directly behind her, stone spears ready… and get blindsided by a _chakra_-charged punch from Kū Fei that sent him flying clear across the platform. As Fate composed himself, Asuna landed next to Konoka, Negi in her arms.

"Asuna-nee-chan, above you!"

Thanks to the warning, Asuna raised her anti-magic sword in time to dispel a powerful wave of dark magic, fired by the tall figure floating above.

"Here we go. Konoka!"

"Right! I've got Negi-kun!"

"My, my…" a new, girl's voice said from next to them both. "You seem to have grown up to be quite delectable, Princess…"

Kotarō, fresh from Anya's healing spell, came in from out of nowhere, kicking Tsukuyomi away. At the same time, the sphere supposedly containing Kaede Nagase rolled to near Fate's feet… carrying a strand of hair and an explosive tag. He formed a wall of stone to absorb the blast, and then leapt away, narrowly dodging the giant _fūma shuriken_ that came in from above.

"That was too close…" Nagase said. "I almost didn't get that _Kawarimi _off in time."

A complex, multi-leveled Vetus magic circle sprang to life underneath Konoka, who now knelt at Negi's side. She began to incant her most powerful healing spell:

"_Ibuki-dono Ooharahe: Takamagahara ni Kamudzumarimasu Kamuroki Kamuromi no Mikoto wo Mochite. Sumegamitachi no Mae ni Mausaku Kurushimi Urefu Waga Tomo wo Mamori Megumi ha Saki Hahe Tamae to. Fujihara no Asomi Konoe Konoka wo Iku Musubi wo Udzu no Mitegura ni Sono he Tatematsuru Koto wo Moromoro Kikoshimese…_"

("Purification Ritual to Ibuki-Donushi: I enter the High Plains of Heaven, invoking the power of the gods. Humbly gathered before the Imperial Gods, protect my suffering comrades, bestow upon them blessings and good fortune. I, Konoka of the Konoe house of the Fujiwara Clan, offer my soul within this cloth as a treasure to the gods so that they may heed my humble request.")

There was a flash of white light that enveloped the hole through Negi's torso, and the lost flesh & bone began to spontaneously regrow, the damaged parts repairing themselves as White Magic flowed into the boy's body.

"You're okay now… Negi-kun…"

Negi then got to his feet, summoning his staff to his hand. All combatants of Ala Alba and Gamma Team stepped up and readied their weapons; the ODSTs and Sangheili Alliance soldiers, along with Rex & Cody, pointed their various weapons.

'Gravekeeper-sama?' Fate telepathically asked the mysterious figure.

'Still need some time, Fate-san' the young female voice responded.

Fate nodded and then turned to the tall figure in his entourage. "Dynamis-san…"

Dynamis nodded and slammed his palm onto the ground. From the ground, all over the platform between Team Fate and Team Negi, arose many black shadow-demons, heeding the call of their summoner.

(MUSIC: Naruto OST 3 – Avenger (AN: _Not _the version from OST 2))

After several seconds, Teana was the first to charge, followed by nearly everyone else, and the summons responded in kind. Haruna stationed herself near the five mundanes, sending some of her summoned golems out to fight while others formed a defensive perimeter around the quintet. Bullets, plasma fire, blaster bolts, and explosive pink crystal-needles were fired into the approaching horde by the soldiers & warriors present, and three active plasma grenades were flung into the tightly-packed middle of the enemy summons, taking several out. Teana and Ahsoka's energy blades carved through summons, as did the plasma swords wielded by Mai and Kilkar; Arum fired precise shots from his concussion rifle, targeting the larger ones. One summon made a break for Konoka, only for Shion to hit it with the results of Teana's training – "_Rasengan_!" – sending it flying.

Marie fired Charge-Beam shots from her device-cannon, and then sighted a particularly big summon carrying a double-bladed ax. She took aim at its head, charged a shot, and then injected a cartridge into the mix, firing off the magical equivalent of an "_M-Prime _Super Missile" which promptly fragmented the beast's head. Tsukuyomi engaged Ahsoka in a heated double-sword duel, both combatants evenly matched. Dynamis narrowly avoided a hit from a fuel rod gun fired by Yayap, who then emptied the gun's double-sized magazine at the demon-summons, shooting explosive green death into their ranks.

Fate Averruncus heard the muffled 'whoosh' directly behind him, and instinctively bent backward, watching as Shion's emerald-green energy blade passed centimeters over his face, the slight black 'smoke' of a recent Void-Jump still trailing off her. Seemingly before he could react, her other hand came up with a Rasengan, smashing it into his back. 'Fate' promptly scattered into chunks of rock and dirt, having used a Substitution Technique with an Earth Clone. He reappeared behind her, arm raised to karate-chop her head off… only for Mai to appear, catching the punch in her hand. Her aura flared a dull red and became a 'cloak' that enveloped her, forming horns and two tails, and she then hammered him clear across the gateport platform. She then charged Dynamis, Shion – now in 1-Tailed Form – following close behind.

Dynamis leapt away, landing near Fate, as did Tsukuyomi who was currently breaking off from Ahsoka to attempt to catch her breath. However, with all three of them in one spot with little-to-no summon-demons between them and the heroes, Teana stepped up, planting her feet and forming hand-seals. She arched back, drawing in a very deep breath, as she readied one of her strongest techniques:

"_Katon: Karyū Endan_!" (火遁・火龍炎弾)

She threw her head forward, and out from her mouth came a large, fast, bright, and very powerful stream of orange-yellow flame, which roared across the field and enveloped the enemy trio, Dynamis' barrier springing up in an attempt to hold it back. Teana poured more power into it, causing the flames to shoot out with even more force and increase to white-hot, and the tiles beneath her to start warping and cracking. The black barrier began to shiver and weaken, the extreme power burning through it. Fate, however, formed his own sequence of hand-seals, calling upon his secondary element:

"_Suiton: Suijinheki_" (水遁・水陣壁)

A huge, spiraling pillar of water sprang up around the trio, dousing the flames. Teana cut off her attack and waited. She didn't have to wait long.

"_Suiton: Suishōha_" (水遁・水衝波)

The vortex of water became a crushing wave, washing towards the group. A huge wall of earth suddenly shot up at Kaede Fuyō's command, blocking the wave, and then Mai gathered some of the water before Fate could dispel it and shaped it into a quintet of sharks, which were then launched at Fate & company. With a few swings of her swords, Tsukuyomi vanquished the shark-missiles.

By this point, the last of the shadow-summons fell, courtesy of a blaster bolt between the eyes from Rex. Now, all the weapons were pointed at the evil trio. Negi, Asuna, and Teana stepped forward, ready to take him on. In response, Fate began to rise into the air.

"You're too late, Negi-kun. _O, Tartaros Keimenon Basileion Necron, Phainsastos Hemin._"

There was a sudden crack of light and sound, and everyone's attention was drawn to the gateport's primary keystone… which had several large cracks spreading across it, the mysterious fourth figure standing next to it. Then Fate's spell completed.

"Ο Μονολιθος Κιων Του Αιδου (_Ho Monolithos Kion Tou Haidou _{Stone Pillar of the Underworld})"

Several humongous black monoliths appeared in the air around Fate. He vanished, and they all began to fall down toward the platform. The heroes narrowly dodged the crashing masses, which tore up the platform. Asuna waved her sword, and several of them that hadn't landed yet vanished.

"Negi-kun."

Everyone looked over at Fate, who now stood along with the other three by the fracturing keystone.

"For you to come to this world, perhaps you've spent a bit too long out of the heat of things? Your reality from here on will be my gift to you. Farewell."

With that, the keystone shattered into a thousand pieces. The four villains then teleported out. Suddenly, magic circles appeared at the feet of everyone present.

"_Aniki_!" Chamo cried. "This is teleportation magic!"

"Without the keystone, the teleportation grid is running haywire!" Anya called out.

"Everyone, grab my hands!" Negi shouted.

The ground beneath them exploded, space-time warping as everyone was pulled up and away into a vortex. Outside, a large explosion rocked the gateport, fire and smoke filling the sky.

**SEPARATED! GROUP STRUCTURE REPORT:**

Negi Springfield and Chachamaru Karakuri

Chisame Hasegawa

Kotarō Inugami, Marie Swanson, and Special-Ops Unggoy Yayap

Asuna Kagurazaka, Setsuna Sakurazaki, and OST Corporal Alisa Earhart

Konoka Konoe, Kaede Nagase, and Sangheili Special-Ops Trooper N'tho Sraom

Kaede Fuyō, Ahsoka Tano, Unggoy Major Endak, and Unggoy Minor Eltak

Kū Fei, ODST Corporal Jacob Reiss, Unggoy Heavy Flipyap, and Unggoy Major Kazar

Nodoka Miyazaki

Yue Ayase

Haruna Saotome and Special-Ops Unggoy Ledan

Kazumi Asakura, Sayo Aisaka, Sangheili Major Usze Taham, and Unggoy Ultra Ayzap

Anya Cocolova

Teana Uchiha-Lanstar, Sangheili Ultra Zhal Arum, Sangheili Spec-Ops Trooper Erohn Kilkar, and Sangheili SOT Yaros Endarl

Shion Sonozaki, Sangheili Major Toran Ulden, and ODST Staff-Sergeant Michael Byrne

ODST Private First Class Mark Enders and Chamo

Rex, Cody, ODST Corporal Scott Miles, and ODST PFC Takashi Kamiya

Yūna Akashi and Makie Sasaki

Mai Kitagawa, Ako Izumi, Akira Ōkochi, and Natsumi Murakami


	12. Regroup

Updates may be a little slow for a while, because I am now, in addition to this story, working on two other no-connection-to-Teana's-Travels stories (yes, at more-or-less the same time… well, I might not start the second one until the first is either half-through or even completely done). And, of course, I got _Arkham City _for Christmas, which will take up my time as well. Lastly, my monitor is on its last legs, and it may die completely before I can buy a replacement, which would add more days to the wait.

**Announcement:** Teana's, Marie's, & Kaede's Cursed Seals ARE NO LONGER CANON. They do not have them. When I have the time, I'm heading back to redo the Chapter of Book 4 that mentions them and modifying it.

Don't forget to check out and – if you choose – update the Trope page.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mundus Magicus**

**TIME/DATE ANOMALY**

Chisame watched in exasperated disbelief as Negi and Kotarō continued to beat the crap out of each other out on the lake. The sun was starting to set, and the boys were starting to slow down. Chachamaru stood nearby, silently monitoring. To Chisame's side sat Marie, who was projecting a low-power barrier over their heads as an umbrella due to the boys occasionally sending geysers of water up; Marie and Yayap had shown up right behind Kotarō, plopping down to watch the fight with nary a word. Chisame figured they were used to this kind of weirdness by now. The sad thing was that she herself was starting to get used to it, too.

After a little while longer, the spar/fight finally came to an end. The two boys were now calmly wading their way toward the beach, chatting amicably. When they reached the shore, Kotarō explained why he'd randomly attacked Negi: Konoka's healing spell had poured _way _too much magic into Negi's body, enough to harm him. By getting Negi to expend all that energy in a fight, Kotarō was in fact helping Negi get back to normal.

"Why couldn't you have just had him fire spells into the air or something?" Chisame grumbled.

"That wouldn't have been as fun for me" the dog-boy replied.

Just as Chisame was about to smack Kotarō upside the head, a voice rang out from a little ways down the beach from the group.

"Guys! Is that you?-!"

They looked, and saw running towards them four people: Kaede Fuyō, Ahsoka, and two Unggoy, one red-armored and the other orange-armored. Kaede and Marie practically leapt into each other's arms, while Ahsoka came up to Chisame and Negi. Yayap walked up to meet the other two Grunts.

"{What news, brothers}?" Yayap asked them in the Unggoy native tongue.

"{No signs of any of the others}" replied Endak, the Grunt Major. "{It seems the uncontrolled gateport teleported us all over the planet}."

"{We heard and – in the girls' cases - sensed the fighting over here}," the Grunt Minor named Eltak said, "{and followed it. We had a feeling we would find friendly faces here}."

"…and that's pretty much it" Chisame finished her explanation to Ahsoka, who then walked over and performed a cursory inspection of Negi.

"Well, you seem to be perfectly fine now" she said to the boy, "if a tad exhausted."

"Hey, Chachamaru" Kaede asked the team techno-golem. "Have your scanners picked up any civilization anywhere near here?"

"There is a fair-sized town approximately seven kilometers southeast of us, through the jungle" Chachamaru replied. "My scanners indicate two Ala Alba badges there."

"If we start now, set up camp for the night in a bit, and continue the next morning, we should reach it before noon tomorrow" Marie said.

"How about we set up camp _here_" Chisame said. "That way we'll be less likely to run into any forest monsters, like tiger-dragons or…" she hugged herself and shuddered "clothes-eating octopi…."

"…Clothes-eating oc-"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

The sun was just about set by now, so the others agreed. Kaede pulled out a few storage scrolls. Within minutes, a nice little campsite was up and running. They all ate some fish from the lake for dinner, and then went to bed after setting up motion trackers.

The next morning, as Team Negi set out for the town, two more groups were approaching it from the opposite direction. Zhal Arum stepped over a fallen log, looking around for any signs of friend or foe. Behind him, Erohn Kilkar and the Spec-Ops soldier Yaros Endarl moved through the trees. Teana brought up the rear, using her bloodline eyes to add an extra dimension to their surveillance capabilities. Suddenly, she called for the three Sangheili to halt. She crept forward, hidden by the foliage, and stared out at the three figures cautiously making their way perpendicular to their own group's path. After a few seconds, she visibly relaxed, and then whistled the six-tone tune that Noble Team had taught her.

The three other figures stopped and turned to face Teana, who emerged from her concealment.

"Shion" she said. "Good to see you."

"Likewise, Teana" the green-haired Dark Templar said; behind her, the red-armored Sangheili and the ODST calmed down. Arum, Kilkar, and Endarl emerged from behind Teana.

"How do you fare, Major?" Kilkar asked the Sangheili Major.

"I fare well, sir" the Sangheili – Toran Ulden – replied. "We were en route to a town that Lady Shion's Farsight detected."

"Good to see you here, ma'am" the ODST – Staff-Sergeant Michael Byrne – said to Teana. "I was starting to worry that we weren't anywhere near any friendly faces out here."

"There's something odd about this planet's Force background signature" Shion told Teana. "It was hard enough detecting that town, even with all the people in it. I should be used to it within a few days, though; then my abilities will be back up to snuff."

"Good to hear" Teana replied. She then turned to Zhal. The Sangheili Ultra nodded.

"Let us depart for the settlement, then" he said. The seven moved out.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

When "Team Negi" had reached the town, they'd discovered the terrible truth: Fate Averruncus had used magically-crafted-and-edited footage to get Ala Alba framed for the gateport attack, and there was now a massive bounty on all the organization's members. Some good fortune, however, was that, other than Ahsoka, none of the non-humans were on the list, and neither were Rex, Cody, or any of the ODSTs. Still, though, Gamma Team's presence on the bounty list complicated things further. Kaede, Marie, and Ahsoka now wore perception inhibition cloaks that would disguise them, as did Chisame & Chachamaru. Negi & Kotarō, however, opted to break out the Age-Changing Pills, assuming 15-year-old forms.

The group split into two – one group consisting of Negi, Ahsoka, Marie, and Chisame, the other of Kaede, Chachamaru, Kotarō, and Yayap – and began combing the town, looking for the detected Badge signatures. It wasn't long before Group Negi found four of their missing members: Kazumi, Sayo, Sangheili Major Usze Taham, and Unggoy Ultra Ayzap. From them, they learned some more bad news: Ako, Akira, Natsumi, and Mai had been enslaved. They'd followed Kazumi's directions to the quartet.

Now, Negi's group stood before the 'owner', a man named Tohsaka, along with two of his cronies, and the girls, all four of whom were done up in maid outfits with locked collars on them. During the ensuing argument, Ako tried to speak up in 'Nagi''s defense… and was shocked for her trouble. Tohsaka barely reacted fast enough to avoid being killed by Marie's resulting strike, Charon's energy blade slicing a long cut down his chest and stomach; had he been milliseconds slower, she'd have cleaved him in two. And then Teen!Negi's fist had hammered Tohsaka _through _a wall, while the newly-arrived Kotarō KO-ed one of the man's goons and Ahsoka sliced the leg off of another with her lightsaber.

"Mai…" Marie spoke with an eerie calm to her teammate. "Fry that fucking collar on your neck. Use the _Hachibi_'s power."

"But-"

"That's an order."

Mai hesitated and then nodded. As Tohsaka, barely conscious, crawled out of the hole his body had made, hand clutched to part of the large, long gash down his front (which was not bleeding, as Charon's blade cut like a lightsaber rather than a steel sword) he was then left gob-smacked as Mai's body flared with pale-red chakra. Mai cried out as a Tailed-Beast Cloak sprang to life around her. The shock collar began to rattle and spark. Then she cranked it up to two tails, and the collar _shattered_ into a hundred pieces. Then she dispelled the Cloak, suppressing her power again. Marie tossed her a scroll. Mai unfurled the scroll and twirled it around herself. She was hidden by a puff of smoke, and when it faded she was wearing her standard combat attire. Ahsoka walked up to her, throwing a perception-inhibition cloak over her.

"Fate and his cronies got bounties placed on us" she explained in a whisper to Mai, who nodded and donned the cloak.

"What's going on out here?-!" a deep yet female voice shouted.

The group turned to see what looked like a cartoonish bear-woman, wearing a dress and apron. Ahsoka's and Marie's energy blades sprang to life, while black energy swirled around Kotarō's fists and Negi's fists crackled with lightning energy; all of them took fighting stances. The bear-woman looked around, noticing Tohsaka half-buried in a wall with a huge gash down his front, the other two guys unconscious – one of them missing a leg – and still, and Mai (her cloak's hood down) in a fighting stance and without the shock-collar. After several seconds, Marie spoke.

"Between torturing one of Ne… _Nagi_'s protectees, and trying to enslave a member of our squad," she gestured to Mai, "they had it coming."

There was a flash of movement as four more figures dropped into the plaza. Kaede Fuyō drew twin bone-blades from her shoulders, Chachamaru's wrist-mounted blasters came out, one pointed at the downed Tohsaka and the other at the bear-lady, Yayap drew his plasma rifle and pointed it at Tohsaka, and Usze Taham drew his plasma blade, glaring at bear-lady. Kaede tossed two spare plasma swords to Mai, who ignited them and took a fighting stance.

After a long, tense silence, the bear-woman turned to glare at Tohsaka. "You've been mistreating the girls again, haven't you?" she asked.

"…Um…"

"I _told _you not to be so harsh with them! Just because they're technically, temporarily slaves _is no reason to go out of your way to make things worse for them! _Now look what you've got yourself into, boy!"

She then turned to Ako. "Are you alright, dear?"

Ako, too dumbfounded by all that was going on, merely nodded her head. The bear-lady then turned to Mai.

"I _knew_, from the moment I saw you at work, that you had some form of military experience. I'm not too surprised your squadmates showed up and bailed you out. …How'd you get rid of the collar?"

"I'm a Type-2 _Jinchūriki_" Mai said.

"…Good thing I never gave you reason to be angry at me, then. You can all stand down, ladies and gentlemen. I'll deal with these three idiots. Would you all like to come in for a snack, and we can discuss this situation civilly?"

During the ensuing awkward light meal together (with Tohsaka and his cronies being patched up at the nearby hospital), the gang learned the full story. The collars, if a removal were attempted before the contract was fulfilled, would detonate with lethal force; Mai only broke free due to her Tailed Beast chakra completely overpowering and obliterating her collar before it could go off. The girls could be freed by paying their owed debt; however, said debt was jaw-droppingly large. Negi and company wracked their brains in an attempt to come up with a solution, continuing to do so after they bade goodbyes and promises and left.

And then Kotarō spotted the solution in the form of a poster on a wall.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Two days and – for 'Nagi' and 'Kojirō', a few preliminary matches – later, the group led by Zhal and Teana finally reached the town, quickly meeting up with Negi & co. (and, in Teana & Shion's case, donning perception-inhibition cloaks upon learning of the framing and bounty). The situation was outlined to them.

"Quite a predicament…" Zhal had said with unexpected calmness… which Erohn recognized as a commander's façade of calm detachment. Remembering what had happened at the gateport… Yes, Arum was not happy at all.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Tohsaka had practically grown up in gladiatorial arenas. He was, despite superficial first impressions, a fairly accomplished and experienced fighter. So when, in the middle of "disciplining" the frail, weak blue-haired girl, there had been a thud of someone big landing on the table behind him from the vents above, he'd instinctively ducked. Usze Taham's plasma sword passed where Tohsaka's neck had been milliseconds before. He immediately recognized a member of the species that was hanging out with the slaves' friends, and thus quickly deduced that this one had taken matters into its own hands. He lashed out with a magic-charged punch, but the saurian alien twisted around it, retaliating by deactivating its plasma blade and trying to bash Tohsaka's face in with the hilt. Tohsaka narrowly dodged the strike at his head, responding with a leg sweep that the alien likewise dodged. As he engaged the much larger being in a close-range duel, however, he failed to notice the black-armored human crouch-rushing in and up to the fallen slave-girl, pulling her to her feet and out of the line of fire, until they were already halfway across the room from him.

Before Tohsaka could even shout, Taham broke away just as two more Sangheili – Arum and Kilkar – entered the room from the main door. Kilkar fired his plasma rifle over Tohsaka's head, forcing the man to duck into cover. SSgt. Byrne and Ako reached the two newcomers, and Tohsaka watched in shocked outrage as, in one fluid motion, Arum activated a wrist-mounted plasma dagger, sliced through the shock-collar on Ako's neck with extreme precision, and used a turning and pulling motion to place himself between it and her milliseconds before it exploded, the white-armored alien's energy shields flaring blue as they absorbed the force of the blast. Shots from Byrne's M6G handgun forced Tohsaka to take cover again, and Taham regrouped with the others. Their objective accomplished, Arum and Kilkar quickly pulled out, the former gently but firmly ushering Ako with them. Byrne followed closely behind, he & Taham providing suppressive shots as they too vacated the area.

Half an hour later, Bear-Mama viewed the footage, recorded by a Sentinel Constructor, of Tohsaka abusing Ako yet again, and of the resulting rescue. Incensed by Tohsaka's further unnecessary brutality and the results of said actions, she stepped in and forcefully wrenched control of Akira and Natsumi's shock-collars from him, placing the two of them under her own protection. She contacted Teana & Negi's group and promised to take good care of the remaining two girls for the duration of their indentured service, and to keep them out of Tohsaka's claws. Tohsaka himself briefly considered taking Ako and Mai back by force, but that was dropped after making eye contact with Teana, who poured every ounce of her Killing Intent into her gaze, along with letting him sense her presently-suppressed full power. He knew that if he so much as poked either of the girls, Teana would kill him without a second thought, and she would do so near-effortlessly.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Five days later, things were looking up. Negi's left arm had been successfully reattached thanks to Mundus Magicus medical magitech ("Try saying that 10 times fast" Marie had quipped), the legendary Ala Rubra member Jack Rakan had actually agreed to teach Negi "something awesome that'll totally give you an edge", and they had received word from Asuna, Setsuna, and ODST Corporal Alisa Earhart that they were alright and would meet the gang in New Ostia in time for the main tournament. Kazumi, Chachamaru, and Sayo set out in search of more Ala Alba members, thanks to Kazumi's new Artifact with Negi.

Now, Negi, Rakan, Chisame, and Yayap stood on a pier overlooking a beautiful little lake, as Rakan tried to get Negi to come up with any sort of negative emotions or thoughts so as to get him in the right mindset for the primordial-darkness magic known as _Magia Erebea_.

"What about you, girl?" Rakan asked Chisame. "You've got some bad, traumatizing experiences in your life, right?"

"Not off hand, no …Ah, wait, there was my first ever time on the Internet…"

And then she cried out, clutching her head and rolling on the floor as she flashed back to those horrible images.

"Wow" Rakan said. "Nice darkness in that one."

"That was no party, and there weren't any lemons in sight!" Chisame cried out, still stuck in trauma-flashbacks.

Rakan shuddered. "Poor kid…"

"I'm guessing we don't wanna know…" Yayap asked the very tall human.

"Right on that one, little guy. Especially with a 10-year-old present. …Some things just aren't right…"

Negi head-tilted in confusion.

"Hmm…" Jack stroked his chin, and then snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. "Okay, kid; try this. Think about how you felt during that tussle against that 'Fate' boy."

Near-instantly, Negi appeared to be swallowed up by an 'aura' of depression and hopelessness.

"That's it!" Rakan said. "You've got it!"

For most of the rest of the day, Negi's 'preparation' continued under the "watchful" eyes of Jack Rakan.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"_Secchan!-!-!_"

Before Setsuna could react, Konoka's tackle-hug knocked them both to the ground, where she proceeded to hug and snuggle the now-beet-red swordswoman like her life depended on it. Kaede N. and Asuna exchanged greetings, each of them carrying a huge dragon's horn strapped to their backs. Corporal Earhart and N'tho Sraom nodded to each other. After about a minute, Konoka finally got off of Setsuna, pulling the girl to her now-unsteady feet. Asuna informed the three newcomers of the plan to head for New Ostia, and they all set off for the bounty office to cash in the proof of their having quelled two of the aggressive dragons in the area.

Meanwhile, several dozen kilometers away, one of Kazumi's _Oculus Corvinis _drones, with voodoo-form Sayo riding it, encountered a field of shattered rocks that were once a field of spires. In the center was Kū Fei; nearby were ODST Cpl. Reiss and two Unggoy – green-armored Fliyap and red-armored Kazar. Sayo piloted her robotic ride down to them.

Back in the town where the main group was holed up, Chisame was making a supply run, while Yayap was back at the lake tending to the technically-comatose Negi in her brief absence. As she cut through an alley to save time, and walked underneath a vent, she heard a voice right behind her head:

"Hee~ey"

She spun around, seeing, in the shadows, a glimpse of blue hair and piercing red eyes. Naturally, having read that particular story, she screamed in utter terror. And then the figure was shrouded in a puff of smoke – a dispelling _Henge no Jutsu_, revealing Marie laughing her head off. Chisame spent the next 10 minutes chasing the giggling American around the area, shouting obscenities as she did so.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The next 14 days were relatively uneventful. Negi's passing of the "test" of _Magia Erebea _granted him access to the dark and ancient technique, opening whole new avenues for him. Negi also got a not-so-pleasant surprise upon learning of Ako's crush on his older alter-ego; Akira and Chisame barely managed to stop a full-blown panic attack when the implications of the situation set in.

Now, having hitched a ride with a friendly trucker, the whole gang set foot upon the massive floating city that was New Ostia. In the distance, the Grand Arena stood strong and tall; thousands of sapients of various species milled about, adding a vibrant livelihood to the area.

"Alright," Negi said. "Let's go."

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	13. StreetFighting

Read or you will be subjected to a Rakan For-The-Hell-Of-It-Right-Hand-Punch!

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**New Ostia**

As Asuna finally released her death-grip hug on Negi, pulled him to his feet, and started fussing over him, the others – Rakan, Chachamaru, Chisame, Yayap, Marie, Kaede F., Ahsoka, Usze, Teana, Zhal, Ako, and Shion – watched with varying emotions. Rakan's ensuing self-introduction to Asuna got most of said emotions switched over to either exasperation, amusement, or both.

Zhal Arum leaned his considerable bulk against a sturdy-looking pillar. Erohn, Kotarō, and Mai were accompanying Natsumi, Akira, Bear-Mama, and the wretched slaver on a separate ship; Bear-Mama, upon learning that Natsumi and Akira had wanted to see the tournament up close and be there for Negi, had gladly arranged a trip for herself and company, and since the two girls were technically under her protection and Tohsaka's ownership, they "had" to come along for the ride. She and the three Ala Alba members were there to make sure Tohsaka didn't try anything with them.

The Sangheili Ship-Master took a glance at Ako nearby. Every so often, the girl would subconsciously rub at her neck, due to the former presence of that damned slave-collar. The collar's self-destruction had gone off with half the explosive force of a human fragmentation grenade, judging by the drain on Zhal's energy shields when he protected the girl with his own body; had it gone off while still attached to her, it would've blown her head off. He suppressed a snarl. He glanced at the contraption presently worn on Ako's right wrist – a presently-inactive Sangheili-made plasma dagger, re-sized for her small adolescent human limb. He had insisted she keep it on her person whenever possible for self-protection. Being the hemophobic pacifist that she was, Ako had only agreed to it upon learning that the plasma blade's method of cutting meant there would be little or no blood loss for whoever it was used on, so slashing out someone's tendons or stabbing them in the shoulder would not result in her accidentally killing them.

"Hey! Guys!"

Everyone turned to the voice, seeing Setsuna, Konoka, Kaede Nagase, ODST Earhart, and N'tho Sraom approaching. N'tho walked up to Zhal and clenched a fist over his chest – the Sangheili military salute, which Zhal returned.

"So the gang's all here, eh?" Jack commented, and looked over at the setting sun. "C'mon, folks. Let's head into town. We got some things to discuss."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Next Day**

The monstrous bounty hunters looked quite confused as the little boy shrouded in a black, fiery aura appeared amongst them. When they decided to attack the kid, confusion turned to surprise as the boy effortlessly hammered them away. The bald humanoid was taken down for the count, as Negi unleashed a point-blank _Byaku-Raishō _into his gut.

"S-Sensei?"

Negi dispelled his transformation and briefly turned to face Nodoka, but what he was about to say was cut off as he narrowly dodged an attack from the cloaked hunter's sandworm summons. Negi then dodged several more strikes from the worms' tentacles, and called forth a _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens_, merging it with himself via _Magia Erebea_, now appearing to be shrouded in white lightning.

"_Agilitas Fuliminis _{_Shippū Jinrai_} {With Lightning Speed}!"

With incredible speed, he dashed forward, downing the cloaked figure with a punch to the midsection. He then dodged the sandworms' strikes and leapt off of them and into the air, incanting his next spell:

"_Locos umbrae regnans, Scathach, in manum meam det jaculum daemonum cum spinis triginta_…"

As he reached the apex of his leap, he moved his arm downward as if throwing a spear… which is exactly what ended up happening.

"_Jaculatio Fulgoris _{_Ikazuchi no Tōteki_} {Lightning Spears}!"

The two spears of solidified lightning magic impaled the huge sandworms from above, pinning them to the ground.

"Woah!" the dome-headed, tailed bounty hunter observed the carnage. "That kid ain't half-bad! To think that I would be able to use my full strength for once… This'll be awes-"

Negi, however, was in no mood to play around, as the hunter found out when the boy flash-stepped behind him and smashed him in the midsection with a lightning-charged rising palm thrust, taking him out of commission. This left the skeletal, six-armed leader. Negi charged him, dodging his high-speed attacks with ease and striking back with his own, unavoidable blows. Eventually, he got the demon pinned, and unleashed a point-blank _Jaculatio Fulgoris _into his chest, taking him down.

The human bounty-hunter attempted to pull himself up… only for a Dark Magic Death-Glare from Negi to send him cowering back on the ground. Negi then let out a slight wince as he dispelled _Magia Erebea_, returning to his normal form.

"…You're damn strong, kid."

"I… apologize for being so rough" Negi said to the weakened demon. "But against people of your kind, I couldn't hold back."

"Well, you would need something on this level to actually stop me. Such incredible power at so young an age… You are extraordinary."

"Negi-sensei~!"

A few seconds later, Negi got his first ever close-up look at a girl's breasts, to Nodoka's mortification.

"Negi!-! What the hell was all that?-!"

And then Asuna came running up.

"You have got some _serious explaining _to do, brat!"

The _Paru-sama _then flew in, with several spectators – Haruna, Konoka, Kū Fei, Kazumi, Teana, and Chamo – waving to Negi and Asuna.

"That was incredible, Negi-kun!" Haruna shouted. "…But why'd you have to end it so soon? I was just about to try out this baby's weapons systems!"

'That power…' Teana thought to herself. 'I had my Sharingan active, but… there is no way in Hell I'll _ever _be able to use that technique… _Magia Erebea_…'

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Later, back at the hideout**

"WHAT?-! DARK MAGIC?-!-!"

Asuna's response to Negi's new technique was predictable. The whole group - now with the addition of Haruna, Nodoka and her treasure-hunter friends, Kū Fei, Chamo, Rex, Cody, ODST Cpl. Reiss, ODST Cpl. Miles, ODST PFC Kamiya, ODST PFC Enders, Unggoy Spec-Ops Ledan, Unggoy Heavy Flipyap, and Unggoy Major Kazar – winced away from the _ki_-enhanced force of her shout.

"Asuna-sa-"

"Absolutely not! I forbid this! Seal it away! Get rid of it!"

"I _can't_! It's a part of me now; also, I need all the power I can get to protect you girls and beat Fate and find my father and-"

"Damnit, you brat! Stop trying to put every single responsibility in the worlds on your shoulders! You're _10 years old_!"

"It's my fault we're all in this! And because of that, I'm gonna be the one to get us all _out _of it!"

"Kagurazaka."

Asuna turned to Chisame.

"This wasn't some childish, instinctive decision. Negi-sensei put a _shitload _of thought into the choice of taking up this power."

"I was the one who taught it to him" Rakan added in. "And I wouldn't have done so if I didn't think he could handle it."

"Besides, Asuna" Negi said. "This is Eva-san's technique. She's been using it for centuries, and it hasn't hurt her. So I'm sure it can't be that danger-"

"You're lying."

"…Huh?"

"It's always easy to tell when a kid is lying. …Fine. If this is how you think is the only way you'll be strong enough… I can't stop you. And if – no, _when_ – this backfires on you, I'll… I'll be there to save you. I'll go to the depths of Hell if I have to. Just… _please_, stop refusing to rely on others for help. We know you're strong; we know you have a hero complex, a saving-people thing, we get it. But there is a _reason _we all threw ourselves into training: so you wouldn't have to take on every single challenge alone. So you wouldn't have to divide your focus in a fight on protecting us… and so that if anything happened to you, we wouldn't be helpless without you watching over us. Please… start accepting our help once in a while."

"…Okay. I'll try."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

That evening, everyone gathered aboard the _Paru-sama_, in a room that was enchanted in three major ways, one of them permanent: first, the room was permanently made into a 'bigger on the inside' space thanks to a spell from Jack Rakan. Second, Charon and Cross-Mirage combined their processing power to cast a special Barrier-Field encompassing the room, altering the passage of time to a rate similar to Evangeline's Resort, except to a far faster degree. Another temp-spell courtesy of Konoka and drawing power from the ship's power core would prevent people within its area-of-effect from feeling the effects of tiredness. Lastly, an adjustment would allow all those present capable of it to sense the energies displayed in the footage as if they were really there.

All this was done with one "simple" purpose in mind. A scrying spell created by Dr. Halsey and based off of an existing TSAB spell could delve into the past, showing 'recorded' video and audio of events. Another, much simpler spell could add appropriate background music to strengthen the impact of things seen & shown. The result? Everyone present (Negi, Kotarō, Rakan, Chamo, all 3-A students present, and Gamma Team) was going to see the histories of the various realms Teana & company had been to (with the exception of Ahsoka's, though only because everyone present already knew most of it, thanks to six of Class 3-A's "Movie Fridays" in a row showing the _Star Wars _Trilogy, while non-3A personnel had found out through other means), followed by Teana & her team's exploits.

Granted, this combination of spells allowing the entire huge block of footage to be viewed in one sitting would probably never be used again, despite their various individual applications, due to the difficulty in pulling them off; In fact, it was only because they were on/in a world _made _of magic that they were able to do this at all. Fortunately, however, the footage itself could still be reviewed in more "normal" situations.

(AN: Can you see me grasping at straws in feeble, half-assed, superficial justification attempts that are solely ways of attempting to find an excuse to be able to do this?)

And so, everyone settled down for the long haul. First came the origins of Nanoha Takamachi; everyone marveled at the then-9-year-old's raw power, felt shock and horror at Precia's cruelty, watched in awe the epic battles between a pair of preteen magical prodigies, and the various revelations and conflicts that ensued afterward… including the thoughts of the apparently-mad woman as she fell into the Void: "I never notice these things… until it's too late…"

None of RF6 had been told of Fate's past; for Teana, it explained a few things about the blonde's personality. …She also wondered how the impulsive, gung-ho, 'blast 'em all and let the Bureau sort 'em out' Nanoha of youth had become the lying, manipulative, backstabbing, power-fearing woman who'd betrayed her.

Then came the Book of Darkness Incident. Hayate's ordeal, the well-intentioned extremism of the Wolkenritter… and the manipulative betrayal of one of the Bureau's most esteemed Admirals (Teana had Mirage take down a reminder to track down the now-retired Graham and… "have words" with him…). Those who could sense the energy of the abomination that was the Book's corruption were left in awe and fear at the dark power. Rakan, meanwhile, thought it felt disturbingly familiar…

After the aftermath of that case, the footage switched to something wholly different: a brief history of the United Nations Space Command, followed by a more in-depth look at the devastating Human-Covenant War. The emergence of the Spartans, the shocking truth behind the Prophet Triumvirate's reasons for orchestrating the war, the exploits of Preston Cole, the Spartan-3 program, and ending with the Battle of Sigma Octanis.

Next was the history of the universe that the Zerg and Protoss called home. The viewers saw the fall of the Confederacy, the reveal of Arcturus Mengsk's evil with the tossing aside of Kerrigan, the rise of the Terran Dominion, the rebirth of Kerrigan as the Queen Of Blades, the coming of the Overmind to Char, the vicious infighting amongst the Protoss even as their world burned. They watched Tassadar's final sacrifice, and felt as he somehow channeled ki/chakra, magic, the Force, and the Void through himself all at once, becoming the cataclysmic bolt of energy that slew the Overmind. They watched the evacuation of Aiur, the betrayal of Judicator Aldaris (and his subsequent death at Kerrigan's hands), the purging of Zerg from Shakuras, the arrival of the UED, the death of Stukov and betrayal of Duran, the capturing of the new Overmind… The counterattack of Kerrigan, which left the Overmind permanently ended, the UED force shattered, Raszagal and Fenix dead, and Mengsk in power. …They saw as Zeratul uncovered a truly horrifying secret, orchestrated by the _**thing **_calling itself 'Samir Duran', whose mere speech made a painful throb in the heads of those viewers who could sense energies; Rakan immediately identified him as a Lesser Daemon.

They saw the backstory behind the Sol Confederacy and its descent into corruption… and the resulting war in which the Phoenix League rose up and curb-stomped them; the life and times of Mel Johnson; the Second War; the betrayal of Smythe and Dragovich, the latter naming Duran as a trans-dimensional "sponsor"; the campaign on Aspatria; and other happenings.

Much time was spent on the life of Naruto Uzumaki, starting with… well, to avoid an extremely lengthy explanation – they watched the episodes of the show, more or less, starting from Episode 1 of the original series and going all the way up to Naruto's departure with Jiraiya to start 2 ½ years of training. Naruto's plight struck a chord with Setsuna; the depravity of Orochimaru brought disgust and fear to many of the viewers; Teana got to finally see how her younger cousin Sasuke fell to darkness; and the battles against the Sound Five, followed by the epic clash at the Valley of the End, brought awe.

Then came a focus on Midchilda, starting with the formation of Riot Force 6. Teana left the room. It showed the political rivalries within the TSAB, the training of the Forwards… the Hotel Augusta Incident, followed by the White Devil Incident that resulted in… divided opinions amongst those watching (though even the people who felt Teana had been somewhat in the wrong still agreed that Nanoha had gone _much _too far in response). It showed the ugly falling-out between Teana and Nanoha, and the younger girl's subsequent departure aboard the _Starshot_.

Having covered the 'back-stories', the footage then switched to the UNSC's universe, starting with Teana's arrival in it. Teana came back in the room, only to leave again once Noble Team showed up, as the heartache from their deaths was still too much for her at this point. The group watched as Reach, the bastion of the UNSC, fell. They saw and felt Teana's heartbreak as first Jorge, then Kat, then everyone else died with her being able to do anything about it.

"No wonder she doesn't talk about her time with them…" Mai muttered. "It's still too painful for her…"

Teana came back into the room for good as the footage covered the events on Halo-04 – the emergence of the Flood, the discovery of the Halos' true purpose, and the catastrophic destruction of the megastructure. Then came the long, hard road back to Earth, dealing a tremendous blow to the Covenant Navy in the process. The trial of Thel Vadam; the Prophet of Regret's stumbling upon Earth; the Battle of New Mombasa; the Covenant's attack on the Threshold Gas Mine; the events on Halo-05; the exploits of the Arbiter in the snowy Containment Zone and his betrayal at Tartarus' hands; the emergence of the Gravemind (whose mere psychic presence left Negi, Kotarō, and all of Gamma except Teana paralyzed with fear due to its foulness and potency); the outbreak of the Covenant Civil War; the killing of Tartarus; the emergence of Teana's optic bloodline; the events of Onyx. The fight to reclaim Earth; the activation of the portal; the brief attack by the Flood; the journey to The Ark; the toppling of the Covenant, the fulfillment of Thel and Teana's revenge; the rescuing of Cortana; and the destruction of Halo-04-2 and of the Gravemind's physical form. The arrival and truncated histories of Shion, Kaede, Marie, and Mai (whose tale left most of the viewers nauseous, disgusted, horrified, and such); the events on the barren desert world Crassus; and the departure of Gamma from the realm.

Next was the brief stop-over in Ahsoka's realm, and the ensuing resurrection of her, Rex, and Cody.

Then came the arrival in the Koprulu Sector; Shion's passing of the Shadow Walk and becoming a Dark Templar; the freeing of Tychus Findlay; the brutal resurgence of the Zerg; the various exploits involving colonists, psychic soldiers, and assaulting the Emperor's public image; the re-emergence of Zeratul, and the shocking revelations and absolutely horrifying predictions that came with it; the gathering of the Xel'Naga artifacts and the discovery of their purpose; and the assault on Char, leading to the purification of Kerrigan.

Then, the footage switched to something not involving Gamma Team. Instead, it showed Naruto's return to Konoha after his training; the fight between Gaara and Deidara; the rescue mission gone wrong; the fight against Sasori; the power of Naruto's anger; the brief mourning of Gaara, which left many in tears, followed by Elder Chiyo's sacrifice; the introduction of Sai, whom some of 3-A, referring to his personality and powers, called "the Anti-Haruna"; the events at the Heaven-and-Earth Bridge – Naruto's rage, Orochimaru's power, and the terrifying might of the Fox Daemon; the clash against Sasuke, and the reveal that the darkness had all but consumed him by this point.

It then returned to Gamma Team, showing their bizarre empowerment in slipspace while approaching their next realm; the introduction to the Phoenix League; the reveal of Shion's past; the attack of the Greater Demon, and the resulting awakening of Teana's _Mangekyō Sharingan_.

Next was Gamma's arrival at Konohagakure; the reveal of Shion's and Mai's status as Hosts (Type-1 and Type-2, respectively); the incident involving the Type-2 _Jinchūriki _named Sora; the emergence of Hidan and Kakuzu; the ill-fated battle at the bounty outpost; the tragic, drawn-out death of Asuma, which left nearly everyone openly weeping ('helped' by the music); Shikamaru's revenge against Hidan, and the reveal of Naruto's devastatingly powerful new technique against Kakuzu; the 3-Tails Incident; Sasuke's disposal of Orochimaru; the explosive confrontation between Sasuke and Deidara; the reveal of Madara Uchiha; the climactic battle between Sasuke and Itachi… and the terrible revelations that followed, along with Sasuke's complete fall to darkness that said revelations caused; the epic battle between Jiraiya and Pain… and the old sage's heroic death (Chamo and Rakan mourned the loss of he who was both a proud & honorable warrior… and a fellow pervert); the devastating invasion of the Leaf Village by Pain; the reveal of Naruto's extraordinary new power (now able to actually sense it, Ahsoka and Shion were _very _intrigued by the fusion of ki/chakra and the Force)… and how it still wasn't enough; the Fox's apocalyptic power… and the Fourth Hokage's safeguard; the defeat of Pain, and the enlightening conversations with Nagato that followed. It finished with the reveal that Madara had personally murdered Teana's parents and had then forced Pain to kill her older brother, and then with the celebrations in Naruto's name and the _Starshot_'s departure.

"…And that's when we came here" Teana simply said to the little audience when the footage was finally over, and the passage-of-time-alteration spell disengaged. "…Any questions?"

The questions and comments lasted most of the rest of the night.

Kilometers away, Yūna and Makie came out of the little time-space bubble that had encapsulated them and allowed them to see the whole thing.

"I _knew _Lanstar was hiding some good stuff from us…" Yūna muttered.

Akira, Natsumi, and Bear-Mama came out of a similar 'bubble'; alone in a cave a long ways away, so did Anya. After processing what she'd seen, Anya prepared to go to bed on the bunch of straw she'd gathered. Suddenly, she heard a noise from the mouth of the cave.

"Hello?" she nervously called out. "Is somebody there?"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Next Day**

"…You heard Asuna, Fate. My answer is **no**."

The silver-haired boy briefly closed his eyes in thought. "Very well…" He opened his eyes and directed a cold gaze at them. "Then we are done negotiating."

Two stone spears shot out of the ground at great speed at Setsuna and Teana… who cleaved them in half with their swords.

"Don't take me lightly, boy" she said, and then summoned her Artifact – eight magical daggers shot forth at Fate. The boy picked up the Eagle's Decree sitting on the table and used it to deflect the blades, tossing the tool away afterwards.

"Dear me, Kagurazaka…" he said with a small grin. "You always persist in interfering with my plans at crucial moments. …However, I must thank you. In truth, I am glad that crude strategy was a failure. It would have been too boring to simply steal his son's free will, catching him in a simple trap. Finally, the two of us are truly enemies – rivals in deciding this world's fate. My wish has been granted."

Negi struck first, his body brimming with power. Fate, recognizing _Magia Erebea_, narrowly dodged and then flew upwards, incanting his opening spell:

"_Ο Μονολιθος Κιων Του Αιδου_ {_Ho Monolithos Kion Tou Haidou_} {Stone Pillar of Hades}!"

Instantly, a large array of massive stone pillars appeared floating high in the air over the crowds of people. Negi leapt upwards towards Fate, calling forth an _Incendium Gehennae _and merging it with his _Magia Erebea_, taking a form wreathed in dark-red and black flames.

"_Sim Fabricatus Ab Incendio _{_Gokuen Renga_} {Tempered By Hellfire}!"

Fate parried and countered Negi's opening strike, slamming him into one of the airborne pillars below. He blocked and dodged several more hits… until Negi displayed an unexpected burst of speed and landed a crushing blow to Fate's stomach, sending him flying. Meanwhile, the pillars began to fall. Asuna, with a wave of her sword imbued with her Anti-Magic, dispelled all but one, saving the crowds. The last one careened towards a school class on vacation… only to halt, redshift, and collapse into an infinitesimal point, winking out of existence. Teana then de-activated her _Mangekyō_, mentally thanking Kakashi-san for teaching her _Kamui_,and was about to leap into battle to assist Negi when another foe made her presence known.

"I've been waiting for this moment with such _unbearable _anticipation… _senpai_."

"Tsukuyomi…" Setsuna snarled.

"Ahh, these weeks feel like they took forever. To have such delicate meat dangled right before my eyes, and be able to do nothing but wait… Ahh~… I can't wait any longer! Setsuna-senpai, if you don't satisfy me, I might… I might have to carve up all these dolls around us after I'm through with you…"

'This girl…' Teana thought, '…is totally unhinged.'

At Setsuna's insistence, Asuna leapt away, heading in the direction of the fight between Negi and Fate. Setsuna then drew her blade and charged Tsukuyomi, who countered and flipped away… and narrowly dodged a dismemberment strike aimed at her legs by Teana; Mirage Longsword's blade kept going, slicing through a streetlight, leaving the cut edges glowing hot.

"Aw, a heat blade?" Tsukuyomi said in a disappointed tone. "You're using a sword that won't make any blood when it cuts someone? You're no fun. …Then again, besides playing with senpai, maybe I can see if your blood is as red as those pretty eyes of yours…"

"Shut up and fight" Teana said in a low, serious tone.

"Gladly~! Ooh, I'm actually having a threesome with Setsuna-senpai and a sexy newcomer!"

'Why do I feel like Batman fighting the Joker?' the redhead thought to herself as Setsuna came in with a falling-leaf strike that Tsukuyomi barely dodged.

Elsewhere, a barrier dimension shattered when placed against the raw awesomeness that was Jack Rakan, freeing him, Konoka, Chamo, and Kaede Fuyō from its prison and leaving its creators utterly defeated. At the same time, Mai disengaged from 'Shirabe', having bought Kotarō enough time to get the injured girls away. Granted, she could have flattened the dryad girl had she used any of the _Hachibi_'s power, but something about the girl made Mai not want to seriously hurt her. As such, upon sensing the dog-boy's shadow-teleport, Mai threw down a smoke-bomb and then let loose a chakra-enhanced burst of speed as she roof-hopped away from the fight faster than the violet-haired girl could hope to keep up with.

A few minutes in, Tsukuyomi started thinking that, perhaps, taking on two high-speed swordswomen at the same time wasn't too good an idea. While she felt she could almost-certainly defeat or at least match either of them on their own, both of them at the same time were proving too much for her, their thrusts and stabs overwhelming her, leaving her increasingly-tired body writhing and twisting as it dodged and danced.

Then the alien girl showed up, her lightsabers igniting and striking at Tsukuyomi, who channeled _ki _through her blades to block the particle-chainsaw weapons.

"Teana!" Ahsoka shouted. "I'll help Setsuna from here; go help Negi!"

After a brief moment's hesitation, Teana nodded and leapt away, making due haste towards the battleground that was the river in the center of the district. Teana arrived just in time to witness an _Agilitias Fulminis_ modeNegi stop Fate from killing Nodoka, who clutched her now-petrified Artifact against her chest. As the two boys traded threats, Teana decided that now was as good a time as any to test out her newest technique…

Fate narrowly dodged as Asuna's sword strike from above shattered the ground where he was standing less than half a second before. And then a rain of swords preceded the arrival of Jack Rakan. After several seconds, Fate decided that now would be a good time to fall back. He sent the telepathic signal to his various compatriots (though he sensed reluctance to disengage from Tsukuyomi, even though he could clearly sense that she was presently in over her head), and attempted to form a water gateway… only for several bright orange binds to snap into place, holding him fast.

"A pure-magic bind spell…?"

"Forsaken…"

All heads turned to face the source of the voice, seeing Teana bracing herself, feet firmly planted on the ground, both Mirage Pistols held close together as a red-orange sphere of raw magical energy gathered in front of them, an orange Midchildan magic circle at her feet.

"…Buster!-!-!"

The large, destructive wave/beam of magical energy smashed into the stone shield-wall Fate had instinctively conjured. The wall lasted less than a second and only absorbed about a third of the blast's power before being destroyed; the rest of it hit Fate dead-on, sending him flying into an old, abandoned building, which promptly began to come down on top of him. As the falling chunks of stone sent up a large dust cloud, a figure could be seen leaping out of the cloud, landing on a rooftop nearby. Fate – his suit torn, one arm clutching at his side – glared at Teana.

'This girl…' he thought to himself. 'To unleash such a potent attack, to deal to me not-insignificant harm with one strike… she may prove to be as dangerous as Negi-kun…'

This time, his water-gate teleportation spell was successful, as Fate retreated to see to the next stage in his Master's plans… and to tend to his own wounds.

With their foes driven off and the imminent arrival of Ariadne forces, the heroes made their own quick retreat, bound for Haruna's ship.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Yes indeed, Teana now has an answer to the Divine Buster. …Well, actually it more or less _is _the Divine Buster, in terms of power level, magic type, effects, and even energy signature, just with a different name, but Teana's hate-on against Nanoha is strong enough that she's lying to herself about having _anything _in common with her.


	14. Thunderbolts and Lightning

(Watches ME3 trailer) It's Shai-Hulud! The Great Worm will save us from the Reapers!

Sorry for the wait; was pouring all of my focus into "Recurring Nightmare", and I'll be starting work on the outline for my next story soon, as well.

Please check out and – if you so choose – update/add to the trope page.

One last thing: for those of you thinking this story will stay as another "canon with extras" story, don't worry. I've got something _big _planned for the finish, something billions of years in the making…

MY PERSONAL FANON ADULT KOTARŌ VOICE: Ian James Corlett (Cheetor)

BLAHBLAHBLAH NEGI VOICE: Sean Schemmel (Goku)

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"Pactio~!"

There was the usual flash of light as Kaede Nagase became another of Negi's _Ministrae_. As the light faded, the card appeared, and the _kunoichi _pulled Negi into a (somewhat intimate-looking) hug, Teana leaned against a nearby wall just outside, eyes closed in thought as she ignored the other girls rushing in as soon as the Contract was done. The memory-film Jack Rakan had just shown them all was fresh in her memory. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Arika was Negi's mother. What really caught Teana's attention, though, were the subtle references to Asuna. Cross Mirage had detected a well-hidden and extremely complex spell that was magically preventing the other viewers from making the connection. Mirage had promptly independently devised the counter-spell for his Master, allowing Teana to see what was hidden in sight (Teana had been quite suspicious of Asuna's past for some time, especially after her attempts back on MSN-Earth to dig up data on her background). She was also able to figure out that Negi had already known by observing the boy's reactions to different things said and done in the film.

As a chase ensued between Haruna and Kū Fei, Chisame walked up to Teana.

"You're thinking about Asuna-san?" Teana muttered to Chisame; the glasses-clad girl nodded.

"How come nobody else figured it out?" Chisame whispered.

"There's a perception inhibition spell that is magically preventing them from making the connection, similar to the one that prevents mundanes from accepting the existence of magic. I found out about it because Mirage detected and neutralized it."

"But how did _I _avoid being affected?"

Teana sighed. "Chisame… I've discovered that you _never _had a chance for a "normal", magic-free life. I say this because you have a one-in-a-billion inborn total immunity to all perception inhibition magic. That's why you've always been able to tell weird things were happening when no-one else could, even before you learned about magic. The ability to see through the obfuscation spells that keep magic hidden is part of you… and it can't be turned off."

Chisame almost collapsed, her legs feeling weak and shaky. She leaned against a wall for support. All the bizarre things that, over the course of her life, she had seen and no-one else had batted an eyelash at made sense now. Her hard-fought attempt at a normal life… had been utterly doomed from the start.

"When you look at the friends you have now, though," Teana said, "all the things you've seen, the power you now possess… is it really all bad?"

Chisame went still. The power of an electronic goddess… Getting to fight alongside the Sangheili Alliance, a Dark Templar, a Jedi, and an honest-to-goodness Spartan who was in fact talking to her right now… Having, for the first time in years, people she could actually _trust_…

"I… guess not…"

"Come on" Teana said with a smile. "I'll show you some of the underlying mathematical mechanics of Midchildan magic. With your math scores, you'll no doubt be able to make sense of them. Maybe you'll even figure out on your own how to perform a few basic Midchilda-system spells."

As the two walked away down the hall, Asuna hid in a corner, watching them with a smile. At least, on the outside…

'A person with immunity to obfuscation spells, and a spell system based on math?' "Shiori" thought. 'Interesting…'

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Several days later**

Chisame, Kotarō, Chamo, and the seven girls of Gamma Team gathered near Negi on a cliff-edge overlooking a collection of hundreds of gigantic floating hunks of rock that spanned for kilometers – wreckage from the literal fall of Old Ostia. Apparently, Negi wanted to show them his first "trump card" for the fight against Jack Rakan.

"You all might want to pay attention" he said as he turned to them. "This… is the most powerful spell in the entire Vetus system of magic."

And now he had their undivided attention, distracting view be damned.

"I'm not 100% sure I can pull this off without risk of failure yet, and at the moment it takes me too long to charge up to be practical in an actual fight, but I should improve my success rate and reduce my casting time by the time of the actual match… I hope. If I screw this up, I'm sorry for wasting your time here. But if I can pull it off… See that huge chunk of rock out there? The one about 100 meters in size, with the two smaller ones orbiting it? That's my target."

He bit his thumb, drawing blood, and then slammed that hand palm-down onto the ground, as if using the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu_. The outline of a very complex magical rune formed around and beneath him, and it then lit up with a white light as Negi tapped into his magical reserves. He pointed his other palm at the target.

"_To Sumbolaion Diakoneto Moi, Basileu Ouranionion…_"

Several humongous magical circles sprang up surrounding the rock, their light faint but growing in intensity.

"_Epigenetheto, Aithalous Keraune Hos Titenas Phetheirein…_"

The rune-circles, now glowing intensely, crackled with lightning energy.

"_Ekatontakis Kai Khilias Astrapsato…_"

Negi gritted his teeth and raised his arm. Each of the many magical circles surrounding circles were brimming with lighting magic. Negi took a breath… and swung his hand down.

"_Κιλιπλ Αστραπη _{_Khilipl Astrape_} {Thousand Thunderbolts}!-!"

All at once, the rune-circles unleashed their payload: a seemingly-endless cascade of tremendous and obscenely-powerful bolts of lightning-magic. The observers shielded their eyes from the near-blinding light, and planted their feet as the shockwave hit. The tremendous sound continued as the attack continued to blast at the 100-meter rock. Finally, after several seconds, it died down. The observers opened their eyes… and stared in slack-jawed amazement.

"Spell power at boundary between SS+ and SSS" Cross Mirage reported.

The rock was _gone_. The vast majority of it had been utterly vaporized; small chunks of rock remained, completely liquefied into lava, slowly falling to the ground far below.

"We… We might actually be able to do it" Chamo remarked. "Even Rakan can't come out of that much power intact…"

"But… Didn't Jack actually take that attack from Nagi-san in the memory-film?" Mai asked.

"I won't be using it as a straight-up attack" Negi replied.

"Your _Magia Erebea_…" Shion said. "If you charged _yourself _up with that much power…"

"…Your power level should be multiplied by at least five times!" Marie finished. "You'll flatten him!"

"Not a chance!"

Everyone turned at the sudden interruption, seeing…

"No way…." Kotarō said. "How the Hell is _she _even here?"

"I can see it written all over your face" the interrupter said to Negi. "You don't even have faith in this plan yourself, so you tell it to your friends and try to encourage yourself by getting their approval… Don't worry; I can't honestly say I dislike this kind of futile struggle. It can't exactly be helped. You're up against Rakan; the man who's broken all the rules in the book so many times that the book might as well not exist."

"M-Master?-!"

"How in the Void are you even here, Evangeline-san?" Shion said.

"You'd have to be a complete idiot to even try fighting someone like that" Evangeline continued to Negi, ignoring the others. "Why don't you just cut your losses and give up on this one? I couldn't fault you for it, and Akira & Natsumi's new masters don't seem to treat them _too _badly…"

Teana growled, her _Mangekyō _active.

"Don't bother, girl. I'm not even here. This is a duplication of me, similar to your Shadow Clones but more."

"…Sorry if you came all this way to tell us that, Eva-chan…" Kotarō said, "but this is one fight that there is no running away from. Rakan-san told Negi 'Let's do this'. Face-to-face, no screwing around, a flat-out challenge. What that means is that he's acknowledged Negi as a man in his own right."

"Still," the Eva-Copy said, "You don't stand a chance at winning. It's not like that thick-headed brute actually thinks these things through. This contest is meaningless."

"That may or may not be true, but…" Negi clenched a fist. "My father's best friend has finally acknowledged me as a man… Running away from something like that is absolutely not an option!"

"Well then, allow me to provide some assistance" a new voice said.

Everyone looked over, seeing a robed woman with large, light-colored, curved horns sprouting from her head, holding a rolled-up scroll in her hand.

"Princess Theodora of Hellas…" Kaede F. muttered.

There were five other girls with her: Nodoka, Asuna, Konoka… and Yūna & Makie.

After the two long-lost girls fangirled and fretted over Negi (the former made more intense by Theodora casually confirming to them that the Thousand Master was Negi's dad), they caught sight of Gamma Team. Teana and Ahsoka, in particular, got fangirled particularly badly, such that they barely managed to catch the short yet revealing conversation between Negi and Theodora.

However, there was no missing the arrival of the loud, boisterous man with pointy hair and a nice suit, or of Seras, the commander of the Ariadne Knights. One (rather loud) conversation later, and Negi & Kotarō had four trainers, as well as a temporally-displaced training realm where 10 days passed for every one day in the outside realm. As the boys discussed things with the three adults, Teana walked up to the duplicate of Evangeline.

"What do you want from me, off-worlder?" Evangeline asked her.

Teana's response was to-the-point: "Teach me how to perform magic-based flight."

Evangeline raised an eyebrow: "That's all? That's not much to ask for…"

"And yet you haven't taught Negi yet."

"Because he hasn't asked. …Alright, we got 30 days. I'll have you defying gravity in 10."

"Can I teach Marie after I get it nailed down?"

"Knock yourself out."

"Cool."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Three Days (Outside the Training Realm) Later – The Arena**

"_Duplex… Complexio_!"

"…Hmph. Perfect timing, hero." The barely-conscious teen-form Kotarō managed to raise his hand, which was tagged by the crackling figure that walked past him.

"Thank you"

Negi, in his teen form, stood before Jack. The bloody wound on his chest had stopped bleeding, and the rest of his wounds had seemingly vanished. He stood, his body enveloped in the white lightning aura similar to his new _Raiten Taisō _form, except even larger, now crackling with secondary bursts of bluish lightning energy. His hair had lengthened greatly, trailing off into part of his aura.

In the stands, the group watched in awe.

"So… much… power…" Teana barely choked out, her _Sharingan _taking in the details. To her eyes, which could see chakra and magical energy, Negi looked as bright as a star.

"You can actually hold two of those inside you at once…" Rakan said. "That's incredible, kid. Is this the last trump-card you got?"

"Who can say?" Negi replied. "The official name of this form is "_Ταστλαπα Υπερ Ουρανου Μεγα Δυναμενε_" {"_Tastrape Hyper Ouranou Mega Dunamene_"} {"Twin Vigor of the Thunderous Sky"}, but that's a mouthful. Let's just call it "_Raiten Sōsō_"."

"Our mighty combatants – Jack Rakan and Nagi the Second – stare each other down in the center of the arena!" the announcer shouted. "With both of their partners effectively eliminated, is a one-on-one showdown between these two the only way to end this? Kagetarō has been pinned by Kojirō's Beast Form's attacks! Meanwhile, Kojirō himself has been thoroughly beaten down by Rakan!"

With literally lightning speed, Negi struck, a supercharged elbow blow to Rakan's midsection.

"_Kakuda Chōchū_!" ("Beckoning Strike Pinnacle Elbow")

The blow sent Rakan hurtling through the air, with Negi in hot pursuit. He began landing blows on the still-airborne Rakan, bouncing him about.

"_Jōji Ikazuchi-Ka_" Kaede F. remarked.

"Huh?" Marie asked.

"Perpetual Lightning Form" Teana replied. "In addition to providing a further boost in strength and speed, it speeds up Negi-kun's neural activity, so that his mind can now keep up with his body. Plus, he can now change direction mid-jump, further helping him avoid any of Rakan's counterattacks."

"One problem, though" Mai said. "He may be able to move faster than Rakan…"

After Negi's combo finished, Jack Rakan stood, looking little the worse for wear.

"…but he still doesn't have the power to break through Rakan's chakra-enhanced defense and strike a decisive blow."

"Ya done yet, kid?" Rakan said. "You've gotta be at your limit now. You did your best, but if that was your final trump card… you can't win this?"

"…Who ever said this was my last one?"

"Hm?"

"You've walked right into our trap."

A pool of entangling shadow formed beneath Rakan's feet, latching onto his legs and holding him in place.

"Gotcha, you living game-breaker" Kotarō remarked, hand extended.

Negi flashed away, taking position on the other end of the arena. He held his hands out, each holding a different Lightning-type spell… and then clapped the hands – and spells – together, forming a gigantic spear of lightning held aloft in his right hand, cocked back and ready to throw.

"_Διος Λογχη: Τιτανο-κτονον_!" {"_Dios Logche: Titano-Ktonon_!"} {"_Raijinsō: Kyojin-Koroshi_!"} {Lightning-God Spear: Titan-Slayer!"}

"You're tough," Negi said, "but you're not invincible. When I used my point-blank _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens _earlier, you managed to divert its course a little at the critical moment to avoid taking the full force. That's all the proof I need: just as long as I surpass your limit, I can damage you. Here it comes!"

"A synthesized original SSS-rank spell?" Rakan remarked. "Just how much of a prodigy are you?-! And anyway…"

Rakan pulled his right fist back, channeling power into it.

"If all you wanted was a contest of pure strength, you didn't have to trap me! I'll always be more than happy to oblige!-!"

"This is, like, planet-shattering power here, or something!" Marie shouted to be heard over the noise of two top-level attacks being readied simultaneously.

"The power these two wield…" Shion muttered. "On par with the likes of Adun, Sankt-Kaiser Olivie, Pain, the higher-end Tailed Beasts… We are witnessing a clash between living gods…"

"Rakan… IMPACT!-!-!"

'…Wait…' Rakan thought after he released his attack. 'He can use the _Hama no Tsurugi _whenever he wants… If he has that, he doesn't need to make this a contest of strength…'

Surprising everyone, Negi lowered the hand holding the spear, and stretched out his free hand as if to catch the incoming Rakan Impact. In a flash of light, a very large, complex, multi-layered magical rune sprang up beneath Negi.

"_Circuli Absorptionis_!" {"_Tekidan Kyūshūjin_!"}

The energy beam reached Negi… and stopped. To the astonishment of even Rakan and the Clone-Evangeline, Negi began to _absorb _the attack.

"_Complexio_!-!"

In a flash of light, the Lightning-Spear and the Rakan Impact were both absorbed into Negi via his _Magia Erebea_. His visible aura tripled in size and intensity, his eyes now glowing white. He crouched forward, like a sprinter bracing himself to start… and then disappeared from sight, the ground beneath him shattering. Rakan took a hyper-charged rising kick to the chin, which rocketed him into the air. Before he could reach the top of the arena, Negi appeared again, striking another devastating blow that sent him toward the ground. And another. And another. Soon, the only visible motion was Rakan being sent careening back and forth, up and down, all over the 100-meter-wide arena space at a very high speed, with a flash of lightning and crack of thunder accompanying each strike.

Negi, inspired by the video that showed the backstories of Gamma Team and the worlds they'd been to, was now taking the Reverse Lotus and turning it up to eleven…hundred.

'I… can't take this much longer…' Rakan thought. 'Kid… You really are Ala Rubra material…'

After about 40 more seconds of pinball, Negi unleashed the power of the absorbed Rakan Impact from right below, blasting Rakan upward. He then flashed up above to meet Jack, and struck downward into his torso with all his might, unleashing the Lightning-God Spear from that hand at the same time.

"_RAIKŌ RENGE!-!-!_"

The blast wave and column of unleashed lightning energy shattered the protective barrier surrounding the stadium, huge bolts of lightning shooting up into the sky. When the dust finally cleared, Negi, in his normal form, stood at the bottom of a massive crater, in front of the immobile form of Jack Rakan, pinned to the ground by the lightning-spear.

"That was… brilliant, kid…" the barely-conscious Rakan said. "Today, you are a man in my eyes. Be proud and stand tall."

Rakan shakily raised an arm, gave Negi a thumbs-up… and then passed out. The stadium erupted into near-deafening cheers. As soon as the 20-count was reached, Negi promptly keeled over.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**That Night**

That night, the celebratory party was in full swing. Akira and Natsumi, now free of the slave-collars that had been adhered to their necks for over a month, hung out with Makie, Ako, and the two Kaedes, watching an arm-wrestling match between Marie and Yūna. Jack Rakan, still bandaged, talked with Negi out on the balcony. Teana, meanwhile, was sitting outside on the roof, working with Cross Mirage to establish a connection.

"Gamma Actual, this is Gamma-1. Can you hear me?"

There was static for several seconds… that resolved into Colonel Holland's voice.

"…_is Gamma Actual. Signal's patchy, but I can hear you, Gamma-1. What is your status?_"

Teana let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the Saint! I've been trying to get in contact with you guys for hours, sir! A terrorist group called Cosmo Entelecheia attacked us at the Gateport. They destroyed the gateport and scattered us all over Mundus Magicus. It's been about a month, and we've managed to find everyone except Cocolova and Ayase."

"_Come again, Lanstar? Did you say a month? Only seven days have passed here on Earth. Also, we have received reports that the dimensional gateways all over the planet have been severed on the Mundus Magicus end, likely by these terrorists you just mentioned; the two planets are totally cut off. Maybe that's affecting the flow of time over there. Do you require assistance?_"

"Possibly, Colonel. These guys are bad news, and they have enough resources and summoned numbers to take on the militaries of this world's sovereign nations."

"_Understood. Shipmaster Arum is with me. …As I speak he's ordering the bridge crew to prepare the ship for jump. I guess we'll be heading to you as soon as we can. It may be a while for you, though, due to the time dilation._"

"Late help's better than no help, sir. We'll see you when you get here."

"_Stay alive, Gamma-1. Holland out._"

The connection terminated, and Teana leaned back on the roof, looking up at the stars.

"Do you think we'll be alright, Mirage?" she asked her AI.

"We have survived many seemingly-impossible situations before, Master" Mirage replied. "Our track record suggests this will be no different."

"Let's hope so…"

"You okay?"

Teana sat up as Rex called up to her the balcony below, his helmet off. Teana got to her feet and leapt down to him.

"We've got support coming, Captain. The _Starshot _is preparing to jump to this realm. …Apparently, _all _of the gateways between Earth and this world have been severed by Averruncus and his team, and every week that passes on Earth now equals a month here. I just hope they get here in time before things get worse…"

"It's not that bad yet" the clone-captain said. "Did I ever tell you about my time on Umbara? Or on the slaver worlds Zygerria and Kadavo?"

"I don't think you have."

"Right. Well, Umbara wasn't too bad until Master Skywalker got called away and we got some jackass named Krell…"

As Rex got to telling Teana of some of his Clone War adventures, Negi looked up from his own balcony, gazing at the stars and fireworks, trying to ignore the faint throbbing from the runes on his arms…

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Sorry that the chapter's kinda short.


	15. The Smug Super Swordsman

After I post this, I'll start work on my other fic… maybe… We'll have alternating chapter posts between that one and this one… maybe…

MY PERSONAL FANON KURT GODEL VOICE: Dameon Clarke (Perfect Cell)

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"_Flans…_"

"Ah! Negi-sensei! You can't!"

"…_Exarmatio!-!_"

Teana braced herself, shielding her face from the wind with her arms. She felt her Barrier Jacket rippling, the enchanted fabric holding itself together. When the wind died down, she lowered her arms… and discovered that her magic-infused Barrier Jacket was the _only _female clothing out of the group's to survive Negi's spell.

"Damn it, Negi!" Asuna shouted, face beet-red as one arm covered her bare breasts. "Can't you solve _any _problem without wind-stripping a bunch of girls?-!"

"I'm sorry!" the boy cried. "I didn't think it'd be that strong!"

By now Teana had forced herself to turn around, face beet-red from all the glorious female flesh on display in front of her.

'Nodoka-chan's developing…' she thought to herself.

It had been so simple at first. After the incident with the breast-crazy girl at the bathhouse last night (who had given Teana a 95, calling it "rare praise for rare excellence"), she, Negi, Asuna, and Nodoka had been out walking around, disguised by those nifty little perception inhibition glasses Rakan had given them, when they'd run into Yue, accompanied by a trio of Ariadne Knights. Unfortunately, Nodoka had blown their cover, resulting in a fight thanks to that damn bounty on their heads. Negi had tried his hardest to deal with them non-violently, resulting in the current situation.

"Alright, kids" Teana said, still turned away from them. "Let's all just calm down, cover up, and find a place to sit down and talk about things, okay?"

"Kids?" the pointy-eared blond girl snapped. "I'll have you know I'm 14, _and _I'm a newly-minted member of the Royal Ariadne Knights!"

"And I'm 16," Teana replied, "and have fought as an elite Spec-Ops soldier in two separate wars. So I'm the oldest and most experienced here. I get to call you all 'kids' if I want to. Now, come on."

**Several minutes later**

"Lost her memory?-!"

The group was now congregated in an outdoor café, underneath an awning. Negi & Teana sat on one side of the table, Yue and the pointy-eared girl named Emily Sevensheep on the other.

"But…" Nodoka stuttered. "H-How did this…"

"Uhm…" the dog-eared girl Colette sheepishly pitched in, twiddling her fingers. "Actually, it's… my fault…"

"She teleported in front of you and you accidentally fired off a memory spell, right?" Teana said in a deadpan tone.

"Um…"

"Clumsy amateur…"

"But the timing matches up with the incident at the gateport…" Emily added in.

"So there's no doubt about it!" Nodoka said happily. "It really is her! Oh, Yue, I'm so glad you're okay! Let's all go home together! I'm sure that once we get back to Earth your memories will return!"

"Hold on one moment!-!"

Emily's interruption startled the two girls as her fist shook the table.

"Might I ask you not to get ahead of yourselves?-! We still have yet to find any proof that this is the same Yue-san of whom you speak! The Yue-san before you right now is a soldier of the Ariadne Knights currently on duty here in New Ostia! Furthermore, I will have you know that Yue-san is a cadet in the Ariadne Battle Maiden Knight Squad! With her exceptional ambition and attitude, she has a bright career ahead of her in the military! …Why, in an incredibly short period of time, she has gone from a mere amateur to a mage with the skills to defeat me easily. Do you truly believe that we would simply hand over such an exceptional asset to our nation to a bunch of random people off the street of whom we know nothing?-! Besides which… I refuse to accept the possibility that our Yue-san could in any way be associated with a band of criminals!-!"

"Hold on, you hotheaded bitch!" Teana snapped. "We were framed! We came here through the Wales Gateport and were attacked by that silver-haired freak Fate Averruncus and his cronies! He knocked us around, shattered the gateport's control stone, and hacked into their security cameras! _He's _the terrorist here! Him and his underlings!"

"Averruncus… Why does that name sound familiar?" the human girl Beatrice wondered.

"Because Fate Avveruncus," Teana replied, "is the leader of the group responsible for the gateport attacks – the Remnants of _Cosmo Entelecheia_!"

"Huh?-!" Colette jumped, shocked. "Those terrorists who caused the Great War 20 years ago?-!"

"Yes. Ala Rubra captured or killed most of them, but a few went into hiding. Averruncus is the present leader of their remnant."

"People like that _would _have the capability to do those sorts of things…" Colette muttered.

"Um…" Yue cut in. "What about my memory? If I am who you people say I am?"

"I have a way to prove it" Negi cut in, drawing out of his pocket Yue's Pactio card.

"Yue-san is one of my provisional contractors! If you really are her, than I should be able to speak to you telepathically through this card! It will only take a minute!"

"…Very well, then!" Emily snapped. "One minute, no more!"

Negi held up the card, placing it to his forehead. After several seconds, Yue's face went beet-red. The trio of knights freaked out, Beatrice drawing her staff.

"Easy, girls"

The trio then jumped as Teana flash-stepped between them, pulling them close and whispering.

"I can't say this too loud, 'cause the kid hasn't figured it out yet, but Yue-san has a _humongous _crush on Negi-kun – so strong that, apparently, even a memory spell can't get rid of it. She's not sick; she's just blushing."

"…Well…" Colette whispered. "He _is _pretty cute…"

"A-Are you alright?-!" Negi was now fussing over Yue. "Did you remember anything?"

"N…No, I'm afraid not…" Yue replied. "I… I'm very sorry about all that… b… but… I suppose this means I… I'm not from this world at all…"

"That's right" Negi replied. "You're from Earth… the Old World, Japan… from a place called Mahora Academy."

"And you… must be the son of the great hero, Nagi, the Thousand Master… Negi Springfield, right?"

"Wh…" Emily went completely still, drawing in breath for…

"WHAAAAAAAAT?-!-?-!-?-!-?-! H-H-HE'S NAGI-SAMA'S S-MMPH?-!"

Colette jumped on her, covering her mouth.

"Not so loud, Class Rep! We're in a delicate situation here!"

After a few seconds, the blonde calmed down. She turned to Negi.

"I-Is this true?"

"Y-Yes" Negi nodded.

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"Hey, Negi-kun?" Teana said out of the blue. "The memory modification spell… Does it actually _erase _memories, or just block them out?"

"Um… It seals them away, actually."

"Right. Then I think I have an idea. Yue-san, have a seat."

Yue pulled herself back into her chair, and Teana sat across from her.

"Look into my eyes, Yue."

Teana's _Sharingan _sprang to life, and she made eye contact with Yue, whose eyes glazed over as the redhead got to work.

"W-What's she doing?" Colette asked. "Why'd her eyes change color?"

"Teana-san's optical bloodline-ability, the _Sharingan_, grants her several unique and extraordinary powers" Nodoka replied. "I'm guessing she's going to try and break the memory seal with them."

"Is… Is that even possible?" Emily asked.

"We'll see in a moment, won't we?" Asuna replied.

After several seconds, Teana's eyes changed again, the three black comma marks becoming three concentric circles.

"For her to have to ramp it up to the _Mangekyō Sharingan_…" Negi murmured. "The memory seal must be very complex…"

After several more seconds, those present could sense a pulse of chakra from Teana and the feeling of foreign magic dislodging itself from Yue. Both girls broke away, closing their eyes and holding their heads – Yue clutching both sides as things rushed back to her, Teana holding just above her eyes and waiting for the strain to fade, stopping and returning to normal – her eyes their usual blue – a few seconds later. After several seconds, Yue's head rose again, and she gasped as she laid eyes on the group in front of her.

"Nodoka… Negi-sensei…" Yue was starting to tear up, and then she launched herself over the table and into Nodoka's arms, to the astonishment of the Ariadne trio. Nodoka held her, Negi walking up and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Welcome back, Yue" Nodoka said with a warm smile, as her shorter friend continued to clutch onto her, occasionally repeating Nodoka's and Negi's names.

Teana turned to the trio. "Told ya."

After a few minutes, Yue spoke again.

"You… You guys are gonna have to bring me up to speed on all I've missed… You got that?"

"Sure thing, Yuecchi" Asuna replied.

"You okay, Teana-san?" Negi asked.

"Yeah" the redhead replied. "I didn't use any of the _Mangekyō_'s high-tier techniques, so that only used, like, 7 or 8 percent of my chakra reserves. I'm cool."

"My, my…" a new, male voice interrupted, smooth and smug. "Now who do we have here? Why, if it isn't the daughter of the esteemed Sevensheep family of Ariadne!"

A man walked forth, blond-haired, clad in a white trenchcoat, accompanied by a small boy in a suit… and a force of large, black-armored Megalomesembrian Elite Guards.

"The Governor-General of Ostia…" Emily whispered. "Kurt Gödel…"

"Oh?" the man continued. "And who might this young boy be? I have the strangest feeling I may have seen him somewhere before…"

"Governor-General Gödel…" Emily spoke. "Pardon me if I am mistaken, but I was under the impression that for the duration of this festival, the only governmental armed forces permitted within the city of New Ostia were to be those of the Ariadne Knights."

"Ah, well, you see…" Gödel replied. "I have had a frail physical constitution since an early age. It is a little embarrassing, but I am unable to even walk around safely in public without an escort… These are what you might call my private bodyguards. Please, pay them no mind."

"Your pants are on fire, Governor" Teana deadpanned. Each hand now held a currently-inactive Mirage Longsword hilt, and her _Sharingan _were again active.

"Believe what you will" the man replied.

Beatrice walked up beside Negi, flipping his hood up to cover his face.

"What brings your ever-so-frail self all the way out here, Governor-General?" Emily asked.

"Well, you see, it's the strangest thing… We at the Government-General received word a short while ago of a number of young ladies causing something of an… indecent disturbance in the middle of a shopping district. Unable to bring myself to ignore such flagrant disrespect for public decency in my city, I hurried to the scene without delay…"

He then produced pictures of said incident, to the girls' mortification.

"That was the work of an overcharged _Flans Exarmatio_" Yue said. "Someone attempted to bring a nonviolent end to a brewing conflict, and put too much power into the spell."

"I see… Not the first time that's happened, I'll admit. …Anyway, back to my original topic. As I mentioned, I have the strangest feeling that I have seen that young man somewhere before. Where could it have been, I wonder… Let's see… Could it have been the international listings of dangerous and wanted criminals? No, no, that's not it… Ah, yes! That's right, I remember! Why, I do believe you are the son of the legendary hero who saved our very world! Or perhaps a slightly different description is in order…"

His face became twisted in a malicious grin.

"Orphan son of the Queen of Calamity, witch who destroyed her own country… Arika Anarchia Entheofushia!"

Reactions of varying types of shock swept through most present. Teana simply gritted her teeth, having figured it out earlier.

"My, my…" Gödel continued. "I am honestly surprised, Negi-kun. A revelation of this magnitude, and yet you do not falter an inch."

"…I already had my suspicions" the boy replied. "As such, I am not surprised."

"Dear me… I would expect a 10-year-old boy to scream, or burst into tears… yet you seem so calm. It would appear I may have to rethink my estimations of you a little."

"However…" Negi continued. "May I hear who you are, exactly?" His aura burst to life, blowing the hood off his head, as his right arm – glowing with the runes of _Magia Erebea_ – was brought up. "I have no intention of remaining calm whilst you speak of my mother in such a manner!"

Gödel smirked, raising a hand. As one, his soldiers readied their weapons. Teana tightened her grip on Mirage Longsword's hilts, ready to bring them to life at an instant's notice. The dust beneath her feet swirled around her.

"Hold it right there!"

Everyone looked to the new voice, seeing Ariadne Headmistress Seras, accompanied by a squad of Ariadne Knights… along with Zhal Arum, Erohn Kilkar, and the other six girls of Gamma Team.

"You have no right to arrest this boy, Governor!" she shouted.

"Headmistress!"

"Ship-Master!"

"President Seras…" Gödel said. "Now, who said anything about arresting? I was merely enjoying a little conversation with my citizens here. Although, of course… If this boy is indeed, as you suggest, a dangerous individual who one might feel the need to arrest… then perhaps I should be more careful. He is, after all, none other than the "Nagi the Second" who defeated Jack Rakan."

'_Do not rise to his provocations, Negi-kun!_' Seras told Negi telepathically. '_It's you who he's after! He wants you to resort to violence, so that he can use that as an excuse to take you into custody!_ _This man is very dangerous, Negi-kun. There is an excellent chance he is a part of the group responsible for setting you up as wanted fugitives. He could prove more dangerous than even Avveruncus…_'

"My, my…" Gödel spoke. "Those are some rather irresponsible things you are saying… or, rather, _thinking_. Might I ask upon what do you base those claims? It certainly is a good thing you are not making them loud… That could cause no end of trouble."

"He intercepted our telepathy?" Seras muttered in shock. "How is that even possible?"

"…President Seras, might I ask that you stand offstage like the side character you are? Now then, Negi-kun. I had the pleasure of observing your match. I must say, I was beyond impressed – truly awestruck! Your talents and power are astonishing. I could compliment you all day. Though it may have been in the context of a friendly bout, the fact remains that you _defeated _the Invincible Rakan. Your ability is clear. Utterly unparalleled, absolutely unprecedented. I found myself doubting my own eyes.

"However… Might I ask what exactly you mean to _do _with all that ability? Return to a peaceful country and live in comfort as a schoolteacher? We can't have that, can we? Far too boring. With that power of yours, Negi-kun… you could save the world."

"Wh…" Negi spoke. "What do you…"

"Or perhaps you would prefer to simply trounce young Averruncus and leave it at that? No, no, that's simply not enough; far too petty for one such as yourself. Those with power have a responsibility to the world. Your honorable father spent a full 10 years after the war serving the greater good, but the world is still filled with the unreasonable and the dangerous. …Surely, you must agree? You could help to ensure that a tragedy like the one that befell the people of a certain village does not repeat itself. You have inherited a legacy from your father before you, and you have gained the power to live up to it. It is your duty to save the world. Do you now see my reasoning? As the son of a celebrated hero, as a man who has won fame himself in the arena, and as the last remaining heir to this world's oldest royal family.

"Certainly, your mother may be shrouded in infamy, but the noble blood of Vespertatia runs through your veins. That blood, the blood of the founders of this world, marks you as its rightful heir. Do you understand what this means…?"

His malicious grin came to his face again.

"Your value is inestimable. You have the power to take over this entire world. How about it? Join forces with me… and half of the world will be yours!"

"…What… What nonsense do you speak?"

Negi's aura blazed to life, his _Magia Erebea _activating.

"Who the hell do you think you are?-!"

"…I suppose I should take that as a 'no'. In taking over the world, you could save it, you know… but I suppose a child cannot understand such things."

Suddenly, a pebble tossed up by Negi's aura grazed Gödel's face, leaving a small cut. Kurt wiped a finger across it, looking at the tiny bit of blood.

"Oh, look…" he said. "What have we here? I do believe this makes my actions self-defense! I am now free to exercise my power as I see fit!"

He swept his hand forward, and his soldiers – 13 out of 30 – charged at Negi. Before anyone else could react, Negi burst into lightning and flashed forward, sending them all flying.

"_Raiten Taisō…_" Emily whispered. "It's really him!"

"Warriors!" Zhal directed to the Ariadne and to Gamma Team. "Protect and assist the boy!"

The 15 Ariadne Knights moved forward, locking weapons with the Megalomesembrian troops. Teana's twin energy blades snapped to life in her hands, and she rushed forward, dismembering and crippling enemy soldiers without dealing fatal harm. The Captain of the Guards rushed at her, firing a lighting-type attack spell, only for her to jump away, landing next to Shion. Storing her weapons on her hips, Teana placed her left hand next to Shion's right, and they both used their other hands to spin and mold chakra, soon forming a large sphere of chaotic energy. They rushed the Guard Captain, dodging two more attacks, and slammed their own attack home:

"_Ōdama Rasengan_!"

The Guard Captain was sent careening helplessly through the air, his extra-strength armor utterly destroyed and a large, gaping wound dug into his chest. He smashed into an old, condemned two-story building, which partially collapsed on his head. Teana and Shion re-activated their energy blades and jumped back into the fight.

Arum and Kilkar used their superior physical strength to dispatch the guards who dared attack them, while Marie & Mai supported the group with long-range fire, and Ahsoka & Kaede protected the civilians fleeing the area, and then turned their attentions to disabling Kurt's guards.

"_Zanganken: Ni no Tachi_!"

Negi found himself stuck in place, the attack somehow having severed his semi-solid-lightning limbs.

"Oh?" Kurt said smugly. "It seems physical attacks truly are utterly ineffective. And Jack Rakan fought this monster with his bare fists? He truly is something else. But in that case…"

Gödel drew his twin swords.

"Let's see how you fare against _Shinmei-Ryū_."

He swung his swords, unleashing a large wave of energy. Negi raised his hand, summoning a seven-layer shield:

"_Κρατιστη Αιγις_!" {"_Kratiste Aigis_!"} {"_Saikyō Bōgo_!"} {"Strongest Protection!"}

The attack… passed clean through the barriers like they weren't even there, loosing a spray of blood from Negi's shoulder. He collapsed, his transformation fading away.

"The _Shinmei-Ryū _method of swordsmanship was created to strike down high-level spiritual entities… which you, Negi-kun, become when in your _Raiten _form."

Before anyone else could react, Gödel snapped his main sword up into a defensive position, blocking a strike from Teana that had come so fast that no-one else had seen it. A look of genuine surprise was on his face, as he stared into her burning red eyes.

"Such speed…" he remarked. "And such strength to put that amount of force into a weightless blade…"

The second Mirage Longsword came in for a diagonal blow, and Kurt's other sword blocked it. It then became a sword duel of incredible speed, both combatants' arms & blades becoming blurs. Even with his prodigious skill, Gödel was putting more effort into keeping up with Teana than he'd had to for decades. Teana then, without forming a hand-seal, created a Shadow Clone, who leapt back and up, forming several hand-seals and breathing in deeply.

"_Fūton: Shinkū Renpa_!"

The Shadow Clone swept her head back & forth several times in rapid succession, each time releasing a blade of wind that raced toward Gödel. The real Teana leapt out of the way just as the first wind-blade hit and was blocked. Gödel blocked or dodged most of them, but the last one got through and grazed him, slicing a long horizontal cut on the side of his head, missing his left eye by less than an inch. He growled and went for a strike… which turned out to be a feint… which was predicted and intercepted by Teana's _Sharingan_. In the middle of another fast-paced sword-fight, he kneed her in the gut and then flashed away… and now had his knee pinning Negi's head to the ground.

"If you don't mind, girl," he said, "I have a conversation to conduct."

"Harm him further," Teana growled, "and I'll flay you alive, one square-inch of skin at a time."

By now, the rest of Kurt's guards had been taken down. Everyone else present pointed their weapons at him, but he paid them no mind.

"Do you actually realize who it is you truly should be lashing out at with that power of yours?" he asked Negi. "Who your real enemy is? Well, allow me to enlighten you… as the identity of… _your true enemy_. Now… here comes the question! Which of the following options is your true enemy? A) The mysterious organization plotting to destroy this world. B) The unknown enemy who took your father from you. …C) _Those responsible for burning your village to the ground, massacring its people, and changing your life forever_."

"…"

"(A) is "now". (B) is the "future". (C) is "the past". Now, if we're being honest with each other, you aren't all that interested in (A); all you've been thinking about is (B). …Or, that's how things appear at first glance. But when it really comes down to it, the driving force behind your actions is (C). It's (C) that has obsessed you, (C) that has spurred you to action, and driven you onward to the future… Hahaha… That's the real reason you learned _Magia Erebea_, is it not? Come now, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone has a right to revenge. I am one of those people who find great beauty in such souls as your own…"

"What are you?-! What do you know about my village?-!"

"You're a smart boy. I think you can figure it out. The true perpetrator of any crime… is always the person who stands to gain the most by committing it… And that's all the hints you'll get! If you really want to know everything… then join forces with me. If you do, I will grant your wish. If, on the other hand, you refuse…"

He placed his blade to Negi's neck.

"Well, I will have no choice. You are a very dangerous individual… It could very well be better for the world… if you were to simply die right now."

Just when Teana was about to cut losses and use _Kamui _to decapitate Gödel, he was sent flying by a huge burst of magical power from Negi. He skidded to a stop several meters away on his feet. Negi stood, confident and angry, in his _Raiten Sōsō _form.

"I refuse your offer!" He shouted. "I could never join forces with someone who would raise their blade in such a way against my friends!"

There were several more surges of energy surrounding Gödel. Ahsoka channeled Force Lightning into and through her lightsabers, forming lightning blades nearly double the length of normal. Kaede's twin bone-blades crackled with her own lightning chakra. A sphere of magical energy formed in front of Marie's Device cannon, Charon's "Charge Beam" function ready to do its work. Shion and Mai surged with Tailed Beast chakra, both of them in their 2-Tailed Forms. Lastly, Teana's _Mangekyō _glowed slightly, and a reddish aura surrounded her, forming into a large, skeletal arm made of red "bones" of solid chakra.

"What is that?" Nodoka whispered.

"The arm of _Susanō…_" Marie muttered in reply, standing next to Nodoka. "Learning to fly wasn't all that Boss did during the 30-in-3 days before the match with Rakan… A single arm is as far as she can take it at the moment, though."

"…It appears I may be outmatched at the moment" Kurt said after a long pause. "Far be it from me to take on, at the same time, a master of _Magia Erebea_, a Jedi, two _Jinchūriki_, and a wielder of the no-longer-mythical Crimson Eye of Replication."

Kurt then looked to his young boy assistant, who'd been standing off the side during the whole debacle. The boy nodded, and waved both hands to draw a magic rune-circle in the air. In a flash, he, Kurt, and the unconscious guards were all teleported away. Everyone stood down, dispelling their powers. Kaede and Mai ran over to Negi immediately, using their medical ninjutsu to start healing his shoulder.

Yue and her three Knight friends walked up to Seras. "Um, President? Is it okay if we go with Negi-san and his group for now?"

Seras looked to Zhal, who nodded.

"Of course, Yue."

In a matter of moments, everyone had departed, and the plaza was again empty.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	16. Rage and Revelations

Schemes within schemes…

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"Should we really go through with this, Boss?"

"We don't really have a choice, Marie."

By now, everyone had heard about Kurt Gödel's arrival and antagonizing of Negi, and of how he had promptly invited them all to the Governor's Ball… and not-so-subtly threatened that if they _didn't _come, he'd send a Megalomesembrian fleet after them. Now, everyone was busy selecting their formal evening wear for the occasion. Many of Negi's girls had undergone a major fangirl moment upon putting two and two together and figuring out that their little Negi was a literal prince, and were still giddy over the chance to earn his romantic favor tonight. Of course, they were also planning contingencies in case things went to hell in a hand-basket over the course of tonight.

Now, as all the other girls scrambled through the wide selection of elegant dresses made available to them, four girls – Teana, Marie, Setsuna, and Kaede Nagase – stood before a tailor, prepared to be fitted for their own outfits. The woman looked them over, her eyebrows rising when she laid eyes on Teana and Kaede's chests.

"Can you make something that'll fit these?" Teana asked, using her hands to cup her considerable assets for a few seconds.

"Don't worry" the woman replied. "I love a challenge. If you four young ladies will follow me, we'll get your measurements taken…"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Yue, Nodoka, Ahsoka, and Haruna stepped out of the 10-days-in-1 time-displacement chamber. She hadn't been training so much as catching up. Nodoka, Haruna, and Ahsoka had brought her in to watch the extensive trans-dimensional footage that Gamma Team had shown everyone shortly after the previous fight against Averruncus. Then, they'd told Yue of all that Negi and the others had been up to since the Gateport. Now, she took a deep breath as she processed all she'd seen.

"Teana-san's got quite the history…" Yue said.

"That she does" Ahsoka simply replied.

"So… Did I miss any Pactios when I was gone?"

"Negi-kun formed Pactios with Kazumi-san and Nagase-san," Haruna answered, "and Setsuna-chan became Konoka-chan's _Ministra_."

"I'll bet they both enjoyed that."

"Chamo-kun said it was the longest Pactio kiss he'd ever seen, mostly because Kono-chan wouldn't let Setsuna-chan go."

"…And Negi-sensei has dark magic now…"

"From what I understand," Ahsoka cut in, "it's not the evil, corruptive, Dark Side type of dark magic. It's some kind of ancient primordial force that's neither good nor evil. Granted, it runs off of the negative emotions and memories of its user, but it isn't evil by nature like some dark magic is."

"They say Evangeline-san created it," Nodoka said, "back when she was younger and not as powerful as she is now."

"And Eva-san is the type who isn'treally evil even though she thinks and tells herself she is" Yue finished. "I see. …All the same, if it runs off negative emotions, we should keep an eye on Negi-sensei, just in case. That level of magic could have adverse effects if overused."

"You don't know the half of it" Ahsoka said. "Teana's AI showed me data on what 'magic burnout' is, and what it does to the body. It's not pretty _at all_."

"…Well, let's go pick out our dresses for the ball!" Haruna said cheerfully, breaking the few seconds of silence. "I'm gonna get something that shows off every last luscious curve of my body!"

Nodoka and Yue both looked down at their own flat chests; Nodoka gave a sad sigh, while Yue grumbled. Ahsoka put her hands on their shoulders and leaned in close to them, ignoring Haruna happily prancing away.

"Don't worry, guys" she said. "I overheard Chamo pestering Negi once, and heard that Negi's the type who doesn't care about breast size when it comes to girls. A or D, if they're part of someone he cares for he'll love them equally. Besides… You two aren't _completely _flat, and you _are _both still developing. Haruna's D-Cups aren't getting any bigger, and my mid-Cs are probably almost to their full size as well, but you two happen to presently be bigger in the chest department than you were when I first met you. Just give it another year or so, and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised."

"…Thanks, 'soka-chan."

"Any time."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Later That Day - Dusk**

Kaede Fuyō sat with her hands in her lap, head down in thought, feeling serene as she looked around at the various other girls of the group, chattering and showing off their dresses to each other. She was wearing a simple, yellow-and-white dress that was backless and sleeveless with very thin shoulder-straps, and stopped just above her knees. This was out of practicality; her Bloodline Limit meant that a fancier or more covering dress risked being perforated by emerging bones if she had to fight.

Suddenly, she heard two sets of footsteps coming up and stopping right in front of her. She looked up… and her eyes widened, her cheeks going pink.

Marie stood directly in front of her, clad in a marvelous tuxedo, her hair tied back in that usual alluring low ponytail with the bangs framing her face, her green eyes shining as she gave Kaede a warm, inviting smile. Next to her stood Teana, also wearing a tux that somehow _accentuated _her curves while still covering everything, her brilliant red-orange hair hanging free, her cool light-blue eyes looking at the two of them. Kaede felt her heart starting to thump in her chest, her blue eyes wide and her face a lovely pink.

"Shall we?" Marie said in a positively sultry tone of voice, as she and Teana each offered a hand to Kaede, who brushed a lock of orange hair out of her eyes and squeaked out "Y-Yes". She offered a hand to each of them, allowing them to gently pull her to her feet, and they began walking toward the area where the shuttles were waiting for everyone. After several steps, Kaede pulled them both close against her on either side, gleefully clinging to them as the three walked, letting out a happy sigh.

(AN: For visualization's sake: Marie's 5'3", Kaede F. is 5'3.7", and Teana is 5'6"; more height data will be posted in this fic's final chapter)

Nearby, there was a delighted squeal and a surprised shout as Konoka, wearing a lovely white dress, tackle-hugged Setsuna, who was in a tuxedo, almost knocking the small swordsgirl over.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

The night seemed to wear on without serious issue. Konoka cheerfully clung to Setsuna throughout the entire ball, while three Pactios were formed: Kū Fei and Chachamaru became Negi's two newest _Ministrae_, while Kotarō became the_ Magister _of Natsumi. Teana and Ahsoka regaled a group of Ariadne Knights with truncated tales of their adventures, while Haruna, Nodoka, Yue, Ahsoka, Colette, Emily, and Beatrice stuck together, getting to know each other more.

Finally, at one point, Kurt Gödel's young assistant showed up, informing "Nagi" that Kurt wished to speak with him, and that he was allowed to bring five others to accompany him.

"Hmm…" Negi rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, we'll definitely need Nodoka-san, thanks to her Artifact. Asakura-san's a necessity, too, and Sayo-chan can ride along with her. …Chisame-san, I'd like you to come along, too. You're good at being rational and stuff, which'll be good if I lose my head. Kilkar-san, if worse comes to worst, you're a good swordsman, so I'd like to have you along as well."

"Of course" Erohn replied.

"And Kitagawa-san, if things go wrong, your Tailed Beast power and your medical ninjutsu will both be invaluable. You come, too."

"Yes, Negi-kun."

"All right, let's go!"

Several minutes later, the group was following the boy down an empty hallway toward the deluxe suite. Soon enough, they neared the door.

"…You have some lively companions" the boy suddenly said to Negi.

"Huh?" was Negi's intelligent response.

"Ah, well… I just thought, considering the tragedy that set you forth on your journey… To have made such remarkable friends… I actually envy you a little."

The door began to open.

"After all," the boy continued, "no matter where you go, the world is full of tragedies, even now. New and Old Worlds alike."

The door opened, and the group stepped through… and into a vision of Hell.

"Welcome to my deluxe suite…" Kurt Gödel, standing several meters away, said. "Negi Springfield…"

It only took a tertiary look around to identify the location of the area, shrouded in burning buildings and dead or petrified people.

"It's Negi-sensei's… home village…" Nodoka muttered in horror. "Six years ago…"

"What the hell's going on here?-!" Chisame shouted.

"Nothing to fret about, my dears" Kurt replied. "This is but a three-dimensional projection."

"So you're the Governor-General…" Kazumi said. "Quite the hospitality you're showing us…"

"How…?" Negi's voice was carrying an undertone of rage. "Where did you find a recording of this?-!"

Kurt smirked. "Where do you think? I merely thought it would be prudent to make the theme of our discussion quite clear before we began. You have come here to find the answers you seek. However… Which answers, precisely, do you truly wish to hear? A) "The secrets of Mundus Magicus"? or B) "The goals of _Cosmo Entelecheia_"? Or perhaps… C) "How your mother lived"? Or, of course… D) "Your father's whereabouts"?

"Tha-"

"No, no, that's not it at all, is it?-! The answer that you truly desire to find is not any of these things!-! The one thing that you simply must know is the identity of your True Enemy!-! Six years ago! That snowy night! This day, this moment!-! The event that fundamentally changed your entire existence! Who exactly was responsible for the massacre and burning of your village?-! That is the one answer that you truly seek to find!-!"

At this point, the surrounding 3D recording showed the tiny four-year-old Negi, terrified and calling out for his family.

"Certainly," Kurt continued, "your desire to find your father… and your sense of purpose, looking to the future, are genuine. But you, who have mastered the power of _Magia Erebea_, must surely be aware of your truth! Your deepest desire is… to find your "True Enemy"… _and take revenge_!-!-!"

"Sensei!" Chisame shouted. "Don't listen to him! He's toying with you!"

"Stay calm, boy" Kilkar spoke, his baritone voice carrying despite the fact he wasn't shouting… yet.

"As long as this hunger for vengeance within you goes unfulfilled," Kurt kept going, "you cannot so much as truly enjoy a day of relaxation with your friends… You are a hollow soul!"

"You… know, don't you?" Negi growled.

"Who do _you _think the culprit might be? You are a very intelligent young man. You must have thought through the possibilities. You must have spent every day since that night silently honing your solitary blade of vengeance…"

Nodoka remembered the conversation with the demon Graf Wilhelm, regarding Negi's mysterious ninth spell: "_You learned that spell with naught but bloody revenge in mind…_"

"A) "Fate Averruncus". B) "The Demons". C) "The Mage of Beginning". Indeed… Any one of them would make a very appropriate "True Enemy". With one of them as the target of your revenge, your tale may yet have been a very simple one. However… Reality has a nasty tendency of being far more complicated… and far less pleasant than we might like to imagine. Allow me to tell you the truth. The responsibility for what happened to you back then lies with… The true culprit is…"

He held a hand to his own chest, and gave his most evil grin yet.

"…_Us. The Megalomesembrian Senate. _We… are the ones behind it all."

"The Senate…" Nodoka whispered, desperately looking into her Artifact… and seeing that Kurt was speaking absolute truth. "How… Why…"

"Now, as I said…" Kurt continued. "You are a very intelligent young man. You must naturally have taken this possibility into-"

BANG

In a flash of movement, Negi's uppercut sent Kurt hurtling through the air. A raging pitch-black aura surrounded Negi. His eyes were an unnatural golden-yellow, the sclera having turned black. The runes of _Magia Erebea_ glowed brilliantly on his arms. And the Killing Intent he was radiating could bring grown men to their knees. Negi flashed forward, catching the leg of the still-airborne Gödel and striking him into the ground with enough force to shatter the earth.

"That impulsive idiot!" Chisame shouted. "He's gone completely berserk!"

"It's hardly surprising…" Kazumi said. "That incident six years ago was a humongous trauma for him. It would have been an absolute miracle if he'd managed to keep his cool after being told exactly who was responsible. Still…"

Suddenly, behind them emerged a horde of demonic monsters. Mai and Erohn immediately drew their plasma blades.

"Hold it!" Kazumi said. "They're part of the projection! They're not really here!"

The sound of shattering stone drew everyone's attention to where the berserking Negi had Gödel by the throat. He followed with a two-hit combo to Kurt's torso that would have blown a non-mage in half.

"T-The _Diarium Ejus _I was using to monitor Negi-sensei…" Nodoka held out her Artifact, revealing a creeping blackness composed of countless horrible things. "It's being completely overrun with thoughts of hatred! This is… _Magia Erebea _is corrupting him! At this rate, Sensei will…"

With a fierce cry, Negi unleashed a barrage of energy blasts at Gödel, who summoned a shield spell that absorbed the hit.

"To think you would be this powerful…" the man said. "You have exceeded my expectations, Negi-kun. …What is that?"

Negi's black aura swallowed his feet up, and then encased him in a black cocoon, the symbols on his hands swirling out of them. After several seconds, it burst, revealing…

"Magnificent…" Kurt said. "So this is the Gospel of Darkness'… Negi-kun, the more I observe you… the more I want you for my own."

A daemonic monster, made of roiling black darkness and two massive, glowing _Magia Erebea _sigils, large black claws on his limbs, a large, spiked tail, and another 'tail' growing from the back of his head, glowing red eyes the only visible facial feature.

"The _Diarium_…" Nodoka muttered in horror "…is completely black…"

"He's…" Sayo was shaking in terror on Kazumi's shoulder. "He's… become a daemon…"

After a few seconds, Mai shook off her astonishment, and a serious look came across her face. A pale-red aura surged to life around her, enshrouding her and forming a pair of large, curved horns on her head and four tails from her lower back.

"M-Mai-chan?"

"Right now," Mai said, "Negi-kun can't tell friend from foe. He's in the same state of mind as a _Jinchūriki _in an Uncontrolled State… and I can sense that he has just as much power as a 4-Tailed Form."

The others were shocked, remembering the footage of Naruto becoming a _**thing **_in his battle against Orochimaru, and the astounding, terrifying power he'd wielded. And Negi now had that much power and mindless rage?-!

"Erebus Daemon Form…" she murmured. "As good a name for it as any."

Before anyone could react, the ground beneath Daemon!Negi exploded as he pushed off it, shooting towards Kurt Gödel.

"Yes!-!" Kurt shouted. "This revenge is your unassailable right!-! Allow me to feel the full force of your hatred!-!"

Mai immediately wrapped a chakra-tail around each of the other four and took off, running on all fours at top speed to try and catch up with Negi before he did something he might later regret. As she ran, a fifth tail sprouted, and her speed increased. She was now gaining on Negi.

"I'm catching up!" she shouted. "We're gonna stop him in time!"

She didn't get the chance to, because something else stopped Negi first. Directly in the boy-turned-daemon's path, the hologram of little Negi was saved from being flattened by a hologram-archdemon by hologram-Nagi. The monster that was Negi came to a stop right in front of the projection of Nagi, glowing eyes widened.

"Sensei!"

Kazumi and Nodoka latched onto the real Negi from behind, restraining him. Mai's chakra-arms grabbed hold of either side of his waist, while Erohn stood nearby, taking a careful stance and ready to pitch in at a second's notice.

"You can't let him do this to you!" Kazumi shouted.

"Negi-sensei, you can't give in like this!" Nodoka cried. "Is this really what you came here to do?-! This isn't right! This isn't _you_… This isn't the Negi-sensei we all love! So please… Negi!-!"

"…_**No…doka…san?**_"

"Get a goddamn grip on yourself!"

Chisame's presence was announced via this shout and a full-force slap to the face.

"_**Chi… sa**__me-sa__**n?**_"

"We can't really understand the pain you went through that day" Chisame said, "and we can't understand how many painful nights of isolation you must have been through since then. But even so… This isn't right! Was a need for murderous vengeance really the only thing you gained that day?-! _I refuse to believe that!-!_"

The hologram of Nagi let loose his attack, vaporizing the demon. The scene switched to the robed Nagi standing in front of four-year-old Negi and the unconscious Nekane.

"_I see… So you're Negi… Are you trying to protect her?_"

Negi's transformation began to rapidly fade away, burning away from him to reveal his real self underneath.

"_You've grown so much. …Ah, that's right. Here… I'll give you this staff to remember me by._"

"Father…"

As the heartwrenching scene played out, Chisame turned to Negi.

"What you really found that day was…"

Mai dispelled her Tailed Beast chakra, returning to normal. Nodoka's _Diarium Ejus _floated up, showing all black except for one sentence, written in white:

"_Father, I want to find you someday._"

Negi suddenly collapsed to one knee, clutching at his chest.

"S-Sorry about all that, guys…"

"Very well done, young ladies."

Everyone looked up as a battered and beaten Kurt Gödel walked up.

"You truly are Negi-kun's partners. I thought that with _Magia Erebea_'s influence making him less stable, Negi-kun might fall more easily… But to think that a few girls could stop him with mere words… Such a pity. If he had gone just a little farther, and killed me, …it would have been so much more convenient for my purposes."

"…Mr. Governor-General" Kazumi said. "I'm afraid your words and actions are so ambiguous, I'm having trouble understanding you. How about… you tell us what you're _really _after?"

"…What I'm after? Well, naturally… that would be to have Negi-kun join our ranks. Now, then…"

He snapped his fingers, and everything around them changed. They were all now hovering over a planet.

"Allow me to make this simple enough that even you offworlders are able to understand. Observe: this is Mundus Magicus, the planet that was to become a paradise for those driven from Earth… or so was thought. …I was hoping to stimulate Negi-kun, destabilized by the effects of _Magia Erebea_, into taking his first step toward our side. After that, it would doubtless have been simple to win him over. A clever little scheme, if I do say so myself… But it seems I will have to resort to more conventional means."

"You staged this whole farce just for that?" Kazumi growled.

"I do whatever I feel is necessary to achieve my goals" Kurt replied.

"Quit fucking around with us!" Chisame shouted. "You still haven't told us what those 'goals' are! What do you need Negi on your side for?-!"

"I see the girl Rakan has taken a liking to is rather short-tempered. That is exactly what I am about to explain. Now then, I will be as frank as possible with you and try to make this brief."

The projection changed to a massive fleet of war airships.

"A population of 50,000,000 pure-blooded mages. A massive magical city-state boasting the greatest military capacity on this world. Megalomesembria…"

It changed to a senate hall.

"…And the organization in charge of it all, the Megalomesembrian Council. These are our enemies."

It changed again, to a massive, black-robed figure.

"The Mage of Beginning, said to have been killed. He, too, is the enemy of us humans."

Again, to Fate Averruncus and his group.

"The successors to the Mage of Beginning's will, Fate Averruncus and his allies… are, right now, perhaps our greatest enemies."

Again, to a sprawling capital city.

"The empire of demi-humans, Hellas. I am sorry to say that they, too, are but another obstacle standing in our way. Do you see? Let me put this simply: We mean to defeat… every one of these mighty powers!-! Negi-kun, it is for this reason that we need your help."

"Wonderful…" Erohn grumbled. "Another would-be world conqueror…"

"Furthermore…" Gödel continued. "We mean to save all 67,000,000 of our fellow humans… from the death of this world. _That_ is our objective.

'I _knew _it!' Negi thought.

"Hold the hell up!" Chisame shouted. "How the hell many 'enemies' do you have?-! This whole damn world is your enemy?-! Are you insane?-!"

"And did you just say that the Megalomesembrian Council was your enemy?" Mai asked. "You just told us you were part of them…" 

"You…" Kazumi said "…weren't actually involved in the attack on Negi-kun's village, were you?"

"Well…" Kurt replied. "I have no intention of running from the consequences of my sins. And I'm sure Negi-kun would not like to lose sight of a target for his rage. Once everything is over, I promise to allow you to kill me if that is what satisfies you, Negi-kun."

"Governor-General" Nodoka interrupted, her _Diarium Ejus _out. "I trust there are no lies or deceptions in the things you have just told us?"

After several seconds…

"He's telling the truth" Nodoka said. "And he had nothing to do with the attack on the village."

Suddenly, the surrounding projection changed again, now showing the Gravekeeper's Palace 20 years ago… and Nagi smashing the Lifemaker with an epic blow.

"Well, I supposed that no matter how much I explained myself," Kurt said, "it would be difficult for you to take in. As such… I prepared this for you instead. A tale of two people you know very well… _your father and mother._"

For the next while, they all saw and heard as events unfolded. The defeat of the Lifemaker and the apparent possession and death of Zecht Filius; the worsening political climate; Arika made a scapegoat by the Senate, branded a genocidal monster for the way _they _started, sentenced to execution… and rescued by Nagi.

"…_So why not drop it?_" the recording of young Takamichi said. "_For today, at least. Just let this be a happy end._"

"Mom…" Negi muttered. "Dad…"

"Thank goodness!" Nodoka cried. "I was really worried for a while there! I'm so glad that Arika-sama was saved and they ended up happily ever after and…"

"Well, if they hadn't, then Negi-sensei wouldn't be standing right here…" Chisame said.

"Did you get all that?" Sayo whispered to Kazumi.

"Sure did" Kazumi whispered back. "The others can't miss this stuff!"

"Don't worry…" Kurt said. "Just about everything in this film is accurate… Even the scenes with Nagi and Arika-sama alone together were constructed based on detailed information from both parties involved. How did you find it, Negi-kun? The atrocious actions of the Megalomesembrian Senate. I hope this has helped you to understand just how much your parents truly did for this world."

"I'm still not seeing exactly what your point is" Kazumi said.

"Well, naturally, that would be to aid Negi-kun's search for his parents by revealing the truth to him, and once he has come to fully understand the situation, have him continue where they left off. Come, Negi-kun… Fight together with us. Continue what your father and mother began, and save the world. This is the only logical conclusion of your journey here."

'The conclusion…' Negi thought 'of my journey? Arika-sama… Mother… She was such a strong person… Why didn't anyone tell me earlier? I don't care about her fabricated reputation one bit. And father… he really was just like I imagined. Always the straightforward hero… Showing up right when my mother was in trouble… It's thanks to the two of them that I exist today… Learning that alone makes this journey more than worthwhile…'

"What reason have you to hesitate?" Kurt asked. "It should be obvious now that your enemy is the Megalomesembrian Senate. They abused Arika-sama as a pawn in their foul games… all for the sake of obtaining the land of Ostia and the Twilight Imperial Princess for themselves. And once they failed in that attempt, they next targeted Arika-sama's child: you. You understand what that means, I hope? In doing battle with them, you can protect your mother's honor, and accomplish your own revenge at the same time! And you can also pave the way forward; create a new future. The ideals you should pursue… The will you should succeed… To proceed along the same path as your father and mother… There can only be one answer. Come, fight together with me! For the sake of the world!-!"

Unnoticed, Sayo slipped away to check on the others, to make sure everything was successfully transmitted to them.

"Will you join me… or not?"

"…Very well. I'll join you. In exchange, I want you to promise me that you will not harm my friends in any way. And that you will remove our 'Wanted' status."

"Of course!" Kurt replied. "I will write up a geas contract to certify it if you wish! However… I will require you to lend me your aid here on Mundus Magicus. If possible, it would be more convenient if you could stay here for the time being…"

"Wait, Sensei!" Chisame shouted. "This guy's just trying to use you!"

"I'm aware of that" Negi replied. "But Chisame-san, please remember our objective here: to ensure everyone's safe return.

"B-But…"

"…Might I have your permission to return briefly to Mahora Academy?" Negi asked.

"Very well" Kurt replied. "Partings are important. I am not so cruel that I would steal that precious time from you. …You have made the correct decision. Just as I might expect from the son of Nagi and Arika-sama."

Within minutes, a table was set up, with a paper and ink-pen sitting in front of Negi.

"Now… Your signature, Negi-kun."

Negi picked up the quill, but then stopped.

"…Ah, yes" he said suddenly. "Kurt-san. Would you mind if I asked you one very basic question at this point? Since we are to be allies, you should have no issue with that, correct?"

"Oh? Very well… Go ahead."

"I would like to know… your objective."

"Objective? As I said, to have you join forces with me like this and-"

"That's not what I mean. I mean your _real _objective. You have said that you intend to 'save the world', right?"

"…I see. So that is what you want to know. Very well. I will inform you. This is something that Nagi and Arika-sama and all the rest of us 20 years ago knew nothing of. The truth of this world!-! The truth is…"

"The truth is…" Negi cut in "that this world, Mundus Magicus, this artificial plane inscribed upon Mars, is in danger of collapsing. Am I correct?"

"Wha?-! H… How in the worlds did you… I have not shared this information with anyone! Could it be that Albireo Imma…"

"No. I have my own source of information, and my own deductions.

'Outrageous…' Kurt thought. 'This is the most highly confidential of information. Revealed to only a handful of people, even within the upper echelons of Megalomesembria… How could a 10-year-old boy possibly uncover such a secret alone? I had thought that this child would be easily manipulated… but it would seem that he is more discerning than I had imagined…'

After several seconds, Kurt… burst into laughter.

"Oh, I see now, Negi-kun! But if you are already aware of the situation, then that makes things so much quicker! Yes! The dimensional pocket realm this world is contained within is in danger of complete collapse! This should erase any shred of hesitation that you may yet have had. Now, carry on the will of your father and mother, and save the world together with-"

"I have yet to pose my question" Negi interrupted.

"What?"

"When you spoke of this disaster earlier… you stated that you meant to save "all 67 million" of our fellow humans… didn't you? Why, exactly… did you not state that you mean to save _everyone_? The total human population of Mundus Magicus is approximately 500 million. Including demi-humans and the like, that number increases to 1.2 billion. 67 million people would refer to the human population of Megalomesembria alone. Why the distinction?"

"Racist prick…" Erohn growled.

"Surely my father" Negi continued "would have laughed and insisted that he would save every single person! As a former member of _Ala Rubra_, why would you abandon them?-!"

"…I have my reasons" Kurt replied. "They may be difficult for you to comprehend at this stage. No… I have faith that you will be wise enough to understand, but…"

"I cannot understand such reasons! Your stated intention is to save only one person in every 18! You asked me to carry on the will of my parents, didn't you? Well, I cannot see that this qualifies! No matter what the reason… my father would _never _have given up on these people!-! And you, Kurt-san! The straightforward and honest boy I saw in the film just now… would never have made such statements! Arika-sama would be ashamed of you! What happened? What have you discovered?-!"

"You… arrogant brat… What do you know? …How _dare _you? …Hmph. It would seem that I have spoken a little more than was necessary… in front of a boy a little too smart for his own good. But no matter…"

He drew his blade, and an aura of ki/chakra sprang to life around him.

"Words can only take one so far. I will have to show you the nature of reality!"

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Cliffhanger! Well, actually, if you've read the manga, you sorta know what's next.


	17. FUBAR

Shit, hit fan.

A heads-up: my two Spring college classes have started up, both running until late May. Between the two, I have a _large _workload, so uploads will likely be slow for the next few months. They'll probably slow even further come March 6; if you're a gamer, you know why.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

Negi's _Magia Erebea _markings glowed with power. Erohn drew his twin single-prong plasma blades. Mai surged with pale-red chakra, transitioning to her 2-Tailed Form. Kurt made the first move:

"_Shinmeiryū Ōgi! Zanmaken: Ni no Tachi!-!_"

The attack hit Negi, cleaving him in two… and 'Negi' then dissolved away into lightning.

"_Raiton Kage Bunshin…_" Kurt muttered.

Negi, now in _Raiten Taisō _form, came at Kurt from behind. The swordsman turned around and unleashed another strike… destroying another Lightning Clone. Three more _Raiton Bunshin _came at him and met the same fate. A wave of six more Lightning Clones attacked, Kurt slashing at some and dodging others. Kurt suddenly snapped his blade into a defensive position, blocking the surprise strike from Erohn Kilkar, who snarled and put his considerable strength into pushing against Kurt's defense. At the point of contact, the metal of Kurt's sword began to glow with heat and slowly melt from the heat of the plasma blade slowly cutting into it, but then Kurt channeled ki/chakra into the blade, stopping the damage from progressing further. Erohn's second blade came around for a horizontal strike, only to be parried by Kurt's secondary blade. A quick sword-fight ensued, Kilkar using his considerable size (8'1" to Kurt's 5"11") and experience to push Kurt into a defensive mode.

"Damned xeno…" Kurt growled.

"Arrogant bigot…" was Erohn's reply.

Erohn's eyes widened as he sensed what was behind him. He leapt away, allowing Kurt to see that Negi had borrowed a little something from the Uzumaki Handbook:

"_Tajū Raiton Bunshin!_"

A thousand Lightning Clones of Negi all dove toward Gödel, who responded in a blur of motion:

"_Zanmaken: Ni no Tachi! Hyakka Ryōran!_"

The resulting explosion of power left the girls shielding their eyes. When the dust cleared, Negi – now in his normal form – had Kurt pinned to the ground, a lightning-spear to his head.

"Very impressive, Negi-kun…" Kurt remarked.

"We are returning to Earth" Negi said. "I thank you for telling me about my mother. But I refuse to join you"

"…Are you quite sure about that, Negi-kun? In order to achieve your vengeance, allying yourself with me is-"

"I already have my own allies. Besides… Taking revenge has never been my goal."

"…Is that so?"

Suddenly, Negi stepped back, wincing in pain, as his _Magia Erebea _activated involuntarily, his hair lengthening and darkening as the symbol grew. Negi clutched at his chest as pain lanced through him.

"You have been careless with that _Magia Erebea _of yours. It's never a good idea to lie to yourself, you know. Whatever you may like to believe, it is quite clear what has been truly supporting you to this day. Negi-kun… You told me a few minutes ago that your father would never have given up, didn't you?"

He got to his feet.

"Then why is he not standing here now? Why are you standing here alone, without him by your side?-!"

"I'm not… alone. I have… my friends and allies. I believe… in my father."

"Why, then?-! This world is still on the brink of death! Your father failed!-!"

"Then I… will finish what he started!"

"And how do you intend to do so in that state? You are unable to even escape from this illusionary space I have created! Alone, you cannot even protect yourself, let alone your friends! What exactly do you expect to-"

"Lariat!"

Mai's interruption came in the form of a crushing arm strike to Gödel's torso, sending him flying. He skidded to a stop on his feet, clutching his chest which was exposed and bloody; had he not raised a defense of _ki _at the last split-second, he'd have been blown open by the attack.

"Shut the hell up, already" Mai growled, her two chakra-tails flickering about angrily.

Suddenly, Kurt heard a sound like glass breaking. He looked around… and felt shock and horror as the illusionary space shattered into thousands of pieces, leaving everyone in the deluxe suite of the palace.

"Who said anything about him being alone?" Chisame said, her Artifact out and her mouse-sprites floating at her side. "Like he just told you, he has his own allies. Right, Negi-sensei?"

"Illusionary space shutdown complete" one sprite reported.

"All security systems in the Governor-General's projection successfully deactivated!" a second one said.

"I-Impossible…" Kurt breathed out. "A middle-school student from the Old World managed to break through government-level security systems? …But that will not be enough to get you and Negi-kun out safely…"

"We know" Kazumi replied, one of her spy golems floating next to her. "That's why our friends outside have been monitoring this whole meeting. Kū-chan, 15 meters in front of my position!"

"_Got it –aru_!"

The wall higher up behind Kazumi cracked… and shattered as a _massive _cylindrical object shot through and impacted Gödel, pushing him into the wall on the opposite side of the room. The item then retracted and shrank, returning to its form as a staff in Kū Fei's hands. She leapt into the room and to Negi's side, taking a combat stance.

Kurt fumed as he picked himself up… and was nailed _again_, this time right in the face, sending him into the wall again. The man responsible stepped up next to Negi.

"So I hear you're going to carry on your father's legacy" Takahata said to Negi. "Things have become a little complicated… But I was still glad to hear it, Negi-kun. Go on ahead. I'll handle things here. If you were watching the memory film, then you should know; the two of us are old friends. You don't have to worry about me."

"All right, let's go!" Kazumi shouted.

"Wait!" Nodoka cried, bringing her _Diarium _up. "Gödel-san, I have one more question! The reason you just spoke of… The reason why you can't save everyone… What is the last secret of this world?-! Give us the final piece of the puzzle!"

Kurt was unable to stop the thought from coming to his head, and Nodoka reported that she had acquired the intel. The group then made their exit, leaving Takahata and Gödel to settle old scores.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Outside, the Megalomesembrian troops tried - and, in a lot of cases, failed – to dive for cover from the _Sagitta Magica _gatling gun being fired by Sayo from the deck of the _Paru-sama_, as well as suppressive fire from the ODSTs, Elites, and Grunts on the deck with her. Several returned fire in unison, only for Kaede Nagase to use her Artifact to redirect the attacks elsewhere, and let loose with her _fūma shuriken_. Setsuna followed with her own attack, her _Zantetsusen _carving through several more soldiers (non-fatally). A soldier who tried to take Konoka hostage became the first fatality of the day, a particle beam shot from Mirage Rifle burning through his helmet and his head. Follow-up attacks from Nagase and Setsuna KO-ed most of the rest of the soldiers.

"Why aren't you guys joining in?" Natsumi asked the members of Gamma Team present (1, 2, and 4; Mai was with Negi's group, Ahsoka & Kaede were with Yue & her friends and Cody).

"We're not good with non-lethal," Shion replied, gesturing toward the soldier killed by Teana's shot, "as you can see."

Suddenly, a massive energy wave shot past the _Paru-sama_. The culprit was soon revealed: the Megalomesembrian _Gryphon_-class cruiser _Hrimfaxi_, turning its many guns toward the smaller vessel. Another cruiser, the _Deadalus_, joined it.

"Don't worry, guys!" Haruna shouted from the deck of her ship. "They won't fire their big guns, or they risk hitting the ballroom. Kaede-san, get the others into your Cloak and carry them up!"

Out of nowhere, a series of utterly massive black tentacles suddenly shot up from beneath the clouds below, ensnaring both Megalomesembrian cruisers.

"Uh, Haruna-san?" Teana asked. "That's not one of your golems, is it?"

"Are you kidding?" Haruna replied. "There's no way I could make something that big!"

"Identified as a shadow-summon," Cross Mirage reported, "similar to those summoned by the tall, cloaked figure who attacked us at the gateport."

Then, a humongous, black, clawed hand extended up from beneath the clouds, smashing down on the platform everyone stood on. And then the thing itself emerged. It was terrifyingly huge, towering over them all at 700 meters in height. Six eyes, four horns, four huge arms, and a back brimming with massive black shadow-tentacles made for a beyond-frightening sight.

"Holy Sith!" Rex shouted. "That thing looks like it could tear an _Acclamator _apart by itself!"

Teana noticed the Akira, Ako, Makie, & Yūna plummeting toward the ground, along with Zhal Arum and Yayap, who had come down from the ship to render aid against the hostile soldiers if necessary. She took to the air, flying down to catch up to them; nearby, Marie flew down alongside her, and Kaede Nagase flash-stepped down the falling rocks. Nagase reached the girls first, catching all four in her cloak, and then releasing them after a few seconds, safe & sound on the ground. Teana and Marie saved Arum and Yayap.

"Over there!" Shion shouted, pointing to a tower in the distance. Sure enough, the tall, robed figure stood there, a dark-blue magical rune glowing beneath his feet. Then, all around the group the ground opened up, as a small horde of shadow-demons came to existence.

"It seems _Cosmo Entelecheia _have finally made their move…" Nagase said.

"Everyone, split up and head for the secondary extraction point!" Teana shouted. She then activated the TEAMCOMM. "Three, Five, Six, the situation is FUBAR! Averruncus' group is attacking in force! We have a hostile Divine-level summon on our hands here, and the Megalomesembrian Armed Forces have turned their guns on us as well; it's a three-for-all! Primary exfil point is compromised; head to the secondary point ASAP!"

The fighters of the group readied their weapons and let loose, working to clear the path towards safety.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Inside the ballroom, panic began to set in as a horde of shadow-summons emerged from the ground. Shots from the Hellas and Megalomesembrian soldiers had zero effect against them, as did attacks from Emily and Colette… but blaster bolts from Cody's rifle burned holes through them, Yue's _Fulguratio Albicans _wiped out over a dozen, and a shot from Beatrice killed two more. Cody ran over to Emily and Colette, handing each of them a blaster pistol. Emily fired her blaster-pistol at one shadow-summon, hitting it between the eyes; it toppled to the ground and faded from existence.

"Who could have summoned so many shadow-demons?" Emily shouted.

"I've found images proving that these summons were used during the Great War," Yue replied, looking through her Artifact, "by _Cosmo Entelecheia_."

The local soldiers' attacks continued to phase out of existence upon hitting the shadow-demons, leaving the monsters unharmed. Kaede Fuyō took down several with _Teshi Sendan_, and then pulled two bone-blades from her shoulder, dropping into the _Tsubaki no Mai _stance, while Ahsoka's twin lightsabers came to life. The teen Jedi unleashed a Saber Throw which bisected half a dozen more. A barrage of shadow spears tore through a dozen more shadow-demons as Takane Goodman entered the fight, Mei and Misora close behind her.

Asuna appeared on the balcony, calling for the group to come with her to escape. But Takane and Ahsoka both refused, unwilling to leave until the evacuation was done. Asuna leapt, sword drawn, and struck downward at a particularly large summon's head… and it bounced off. The demon's counterattack smashed Asuna into and partially through a wall. It struck its sword at her… and the blade was blown in half.

"Keep your filthy hands off my classmate" said a tall woman pointing a Desert Eagle at the demon's head. She fired, killing the creature, and her _Henge _dissolved, revealing…

"Tatsumiya-san!" Misora shouted.

"W-What are you doing here?" Asuna asked.

"I was performing investigations on the terrorist attack at Megalomesembria," Mana replied, "but I got called to New Ostia during the first day of the festival. And as requested by Mr. Rakan, I am to protect you from these shadows. Now, we have to withdraw from this mess."

"But what about those things?-!"

"Don't just go and ask me to clean them up. That's not part of the contract."

"But what about that little girl? We have to help her!"

"I was hired only to protect you."

"You… heartless bitch!-! Fine, then!-! You're supposed to keep me safe? Well I'm not leaving until everyone else is!"

Any further discussion was interrupted as three blade-spears were thrown at Mana by the shadow-summons. She shot them down before they could reach her.

"I'm sure Colonel Holland could more than compensate you for this" Cody said as he walked up, blaster in hand and pointed at the demons. "In fact, _I'll _hire you on behalf of him, right now. Your job's to help us hold these bastards off until the civvies are clear."

Several demons leapt at them.

"Hmm… Okay!"

And with a blur of motion, Mana attacked, her twin pistols blasting away at every demon within reach. When larger demons went for her, she pulled a magically-stored Barrett M87 out and started unloading it at them. Before long, the shadow-demons on Mana's side of the room were gone.

"They were weaker than I thought" she said. "I guess I could give you a discount."

On the other side of the room, Kaede F. and Ahsoka were carving through demons at an impressive rate, supported by fire from the four Ariadne girls. Ahsoka's twin lightsabers dismembered, decapitated, and bisected with every strike, while Kaede's bone-blades slashed and stabbed through the armor and hides of her targets. She leapt high, aiming to strike from above, but eight smaller demons leapt up at her.

"_Yanagi no Mai_!"

All eight were fatally impaled by the emerging blades, and Kaede landed with a long, thin bone-blade extending from the palm of each hand, one from each elbow, one from each knee, and one from the back of each shoulder. She then sprung into action again, using spins, charges, and long sweeping slashes to carve through the summons.

Then the demons changed attacks. Now, each time an attack of theirs hit one of the Hellas or Megalomesembrian soldiers, said soldier was promptly disintegrated, dissolving into what looked like flower petals. The same thing happened to two straggler civilians. One appeared behind Yue, only to be blasted by Emily's blaster-pistol. And then another one appeared behind Emily. She turned and gasped, seeing her life flash before her eyes…

The sound of a blaster rifle rang out, three shots, and the demon preparing to slay Emily toppled over, dead, revealing Cody with his rifle leveled.

"Come on, girls!" he said. "We gotta get the hell outta here!"

Elsewhere, Negi and those currently with him – Kū Fei, Nodoka, Chisame, Mai, Erohn, and Shion, who had teleported in to provide support, had reached a large, open-air plaza, currently empty.

"Thank you… for your help, Master Kū" Negi said, still slightly winded.

"Once we get through this plaza," Kū Fei said, "we should reach a shaft that leads straight down below."

"Let us make haste, then" Erohn said.

"…Hmm? Chisame-san, what is that?"

"This is Miyazaki's Artifact" Chisame replied.

"Can I have a look?"

Chisame sighed. "Go ahead. But I hope you're ready for this."

After several seconds, a look of horror came across Negi's face.

"What is it?" Mai asked.

Before Negi could answer, the sky shattered. Jack Rakan, his arms & legs apparently clad in armor, came tumbling out. It looked as if streams of flower-petals and magical energy were slowly floating off of him from out of nowhere.

(MUSIC: Naruto Shippūden Movie 2 OST: "Rage" – Start)

"Hey, there…" he said. "Look who it is… Glad I got to see you… one last time…"

Then Fate Averruncus, aged up like Negi, floated down; at his side floated a large, black key, along with several black metal lances. Rakan conjured a barrage of huge blades and launched them at Fate, but each one dissolved away into nothingness upon getting close.

"No matter how many times you try, it is meaningless" Fate said.

Jack's response was to summon an utterly gigantic blade and hurl it at Fate… and watch as it, too, ceased to exist.

"Your actions mean nothing, Rakan. You should know this. Why do you struggle so?"

To the observers, it was as if Jack's right shoulder suddenly burst into flower petals… but he remained standing.

"What's wrong?" Jack said "Your attacks ain't workin' like they're supposed to?"

"…I was aiming for your head. To think you would hold up this well… I am very impressed. …There is an overwhelming gap in power right now between you and me. You are a mortal before a god? I am sure you understand this. So why?"

"Rakan-san!" Negi shouted.

"Stay back, kids!" Jack shouted back. "Look, kid… You ain't in the greatest shape at the moment. Just stay where you are and watch this thing to the end. _Ho Heros Meta Chilion Prosopon_! Imperial Type-97 Battering-Ram Form Magical Armor!"

Now Jack's right arm was clad in a massive metal fist, a huge metal rod jutting out the back.

"…A clumsy weapon, unbefitting of one such as yourself" Fate said. "Why…? Why can you fight with that look upon your face? Even knowing as you do that your struggles are meaningless… In fact, you must have known already… 10 years, no, _20 _years ago – ever since that day. You learned of the secret that the upper echelons of Megalomesembria have been keeping concealed. The cruel, unyielding truth of this world. It is a truth that would cause most to sink into despair and curse the gods. Indeed, that is how all whom I have previously encountered reacted. So why? Why is it that, knowing of this truth, for 20 long years, you have been able to waltz so gaily through this meaningless world with that look upon your face?"

"Oh?" Jack replied. "Well, whaddaya know. You don't even understand a little thing like that? Truth? Meaning? Words like those… _They ain't got a thing to do with me or my life_."

"…In that case…"

A hail of metal spears came to being around Fate.

"Be consumed by the flames of truth and vanish from my sight, illusory being!"

They all fired right at Rakan… who dodged and reappeared behind Fate, dodging Fate's blows and slamming him into the ground, pinning him beneath the giant fist.

"The outcome…" Fate groaned "is already predetermined…"

"Still…" Jack replied. "It was fun, wasn't it? You should enjoy these things a little more. Fate…"

And then the rod jutting from the back/top of the power-fist slammed down/in, and the resulting transfer of force hammered Fate into the ground, which shattered beneath him. When the dust cleared, Rakan looked at his own dissolving body, and then to Negi.

"I guess it really was set in stone beforehand" he said. "Negi… I wanted to take responsibility for my generation and clean up these last bits of old refuse for you… But it looks like you're gonna have to do it, after all. I'm sorry. Ah, well. I'm sure… you'll be able to handle it…"

And then he was gone. …And Fate crawled out of the hole, completely unharmed.

"I never did understand that man" he remarked.

(Song at 1:35)

There were two bursts of corruptive power – one black, and one green. Negi stood, half-transformed, his flesh black and his eyes a golden-yellow with black sclera, the symbols on his arms glowing with unnatural power. Shion, meanwhile, now stood in her 3-Tailed State. The corruptive chakra of the Tailed Beast within her artificially fed and amplified her rage; she snarled, her canine teeth now elongated into large, wicked fangs as the green-hued, semi-solid aura surrounded her, the three chakra-tails flicking about.

"A _Jinchūriki _and someone who is losing himself to _Magia Erebea_…" Fate said. "This could prove… difficult…"

(Song at 1:55)

Both of them disappeared from sight. Shion reappeared above Fate, her two outer tails forming a pair of huge fists which came together in an axe-blow that hammered Fate into the ground. After a second, Fate leapt out and high, only to be caught in midair by the berserking Negi, who slammed him down into the ground by the leg, and then leapt back. Fate stood up, noticeably injured, and gave an arrogant smirk.

(Song at 2:14)

In response, Negi was enveloped in a pillar of darkness and black fire. And then the Erebus Daemon leapt out, an inhumanly-deep roar issuing from its mouth as it swept its claw at Fate, who was unable to dodge, being sent tumbling through the air. He then felt as a huge claw of chakra from the Host slashed across his side, cutting deep and drawing copious blood, while also burning his flesh at the same time. He flash-stepped away, only for a bolt of raw Darkness fired by the Erebus Daemon to strike him in the leg, nearly blowing it off. He landed in a heap several meters away. He looked up, seeing the Erebus Daemon and the presently-3-Tailed Host charging at him, the latter's Chakra Shroud slowly beginning to form the base of a _fourth_ tail…

"Calm down there, kids!"

A large and familiar fist materialized to bop the both of them on the heads; their transformations reversed near-instantly, returning them to normal. Fate used the opportunity to teleport out.

(Song at 3:02, and continue to end) 

The semi-ethereal form of Jack Rakan materialized, standing before the two.

"H-How?"

"What, this? This is just spirit. You can do anything if you have the spirit for it."

He then looked over at Chisame, who still had Nodoka's Artifact.

"It looks like you've uncovered the truth of this world. Well, that makes things quick. As you can see, it looks like they've got their hands on a power directly related to that secret. You get it? That's why I don't have any hope of standing up to them now. You guys… are the only ones who can stop them now! …Well, I won't ask a kid like you to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders. You just take care of Asuna."

"Huh?"

"If they've got their hands on the power of the Lifemaker, we should assume that the _real _Asuna is in their hands now…"

"What do you m-"

"Hey, Chisame-chan! As you can see, this guy's got a long way to go. You keep an eye on him, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. You're the one closest to him right now. He's in your hands."

"Wha…" Chisame stuttered. "D-Don't say stupid things like that! Why should _I _have to?-! It's Kagurazaka you should be saying this to!"

"Chances are…" Rakan said, his body fading away "that the Asuna who's with you right now is a fake… An illusionary substitute… No… I guess 'fake' is going a bit far… She's just like me… and this world…"

Now, all that remained as Rakan's hand on Negi's shoulder.

"See ya around, kid. Don't let the Darkness consume you."

And then all that was left was his voice.

"Don't look back… Keep on moving forward… When a man keeps his gaze fixed right in front of him… The world smiles on him…"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Dynamis went flying out of the open hangar, and not under his own power. After tracking down the wretched telepath who dared to lay her unworthy Terran hands on an artifact of Lord Lifemaker's power, he'd been foiled in his attempt to kill her, first by the young swordswoman who severed his hand, and then by the extra-planar mage with the large magitech cannon on her arm, who'd blasted him clear out of the hangar with an extra-strength concussion shot from that massive gun of hers.

He regained control and flew away, getting some distance, and prepared to unleash his strongest long-range attack at the hangar… only to see a light-violet glow hovering between him and it.

Hovering over a magical rune-circle, Marie traced a five-pointed star in the air in front of her with the tip of Charon's barrel, and when it was complete a second rune appeared around it. She pointed her Device at the center of the star, and the barrel widened and lengthened. She felt huge magical power flowing through it and her, and heard the satisfying sound as four Magic Cartridges were injected into the ever-growing spell, which took the form of a brilliant sphere of light-purple light hovering directly between the front of the gun-barrel and the vertical rune. This was the product of Marie's latest training, her strongest attack:

"CHAOS FLARE!-!"

A terribly powerful beam/wave of violet magical energy, as wide as Marie was tall, shot forth, shooting through the air and right toward Dynamis. He called up the Key and cast a shield spell… which failed after only three-fourths of a second, subjecting him to the full power of the devastating attack.

"How's it feel to be on the _other end _of an ass-kicking?-!" Marie shouted, firing a Charge Beam bolt into the rune every few seconds, keeping the massive attack going.

After nearly 20 full seconds of this, the attack finally died down, Marie panting from exertion. Charon returned to its normal gun form and vented excess heat.

"Target has fled the area" Charon reported. "Scans show significant injury."

Despite her tiredness, Marie grinned triumphantly. Suddenly, she heard the roaring of engines nearby, and looked to see the _Paru-sama_ – lightly damaged but still more than capable of action – hovering up alongside her. Kaede Fuyō waved to her, and she flew down and set down on the deck, almost collapsing into her girlfriend's arms out of exhaustion.

"What a rush…" she muttered. "But I don't think I can do something like that again for a couple of days."

As soon as they were both safely inside, Haruna hit the accelerator, the _Goldfish_-style corvette shooting through the air, aiming to escape from New Ostia. Within seconds, a second ship – a _Stingray_-class cargo vessel – was flying alongside them, its captain confirming he had the rest of the gang onboard. Up ahead, the titanic shadow-demon killed an arch-dragon with the Lifemaker's power… and, several seconds later, was utterly annihilated by a gigantic energy beam from high orbit, courtesy of Chachamaru's Artifact.

"Uh, we've got a problem here!" Haruna shouted. "Look!"

A Darkness-type magical barrier was about half a minute in front of the two fleeing ships.

"Our main gun's still recharging from the last shot!" Kazumi reported. "We can't bust through it!"

"Hey, where's Teana?" Ahsoka said, looking around.

"She's on the forward observation deck!" Sayo replied, looking at her console. "And… She's gathering a _huge _amount of energy!"

Teana stood facing the barrier ahead, both Mirage Pistols held out in front of her and close to each other. Sparkling crimson motes of energy were rapidly gathering into a very large sphere hovering in front of her.

"Gather, deadly blaze of the stars, crushing might of magic…"

Not only was this area, so close to Old Ostia, brimming with magical energy, but the epic battle currently winding down had also seeded the area with yet more loose magic. Thus, it took little time at all for Teana to gather it together. The red-orange sphere of power pulsed and whined with charging energy. And soon, it was complete. Teana anchored her feet to the floor with chakra, sent the mental signal… and released.

"STAR'S DEATH CANNON!-!-!"

The humongous beam of raw, destructive magical energy shot forth, easily thrice as wide as Teana was tall. It lit up the night, the crimson beam smashing into the ever-nearer barrier… and shattering it like a half-ton rock through thin glass. Their path clear, the two ships shot through the ever-widening hole, as the barrier continued to collapse behind them. Teana allowed Mai to help her back inside.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	18. Assault on the Old Capital

EDITED/UPDATED 2/10/2014

_**-CHAPTER START-**_

**Aboard the ****_Paru-sama_**

Yue stared at the temporally-displaced training chamber. A little while ago, Negi, Asuna, Mana, Nodoka, Setsuna, Kaede Nagase, Chisame, Teana, Shion, Marie, and Erohn Kilkar had all gone into it.

"Wonder what they're all up to in there…"

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

**Inside the Resort**

"Everything in this diary – the _Diarium Ejus_, you called it – is completely true."

Varying degrees of shock and dismay abounded through those present.

"So the inhabitants of this world are actually physically bound to it…" Teana sighed, "And if this world goes…"

"They will die with it" finished the elf-eared girl named Luna, who had until recently been operating under a self-imposed geass and posing as Asuna. "And those few who do not will instead be cast out onto the surface of Mars, to die agonizing deaths."

"This certainly is an irresolvable issue" Mana said. "No wonder the people of this world stand divided."

"Are you sure you ought to be telling all this to us?" Chisame asked.

"My only role was to buy time for the others" Luna replied. "Now that I can no longer fulfill it…"

"They abandon you" Mana finished. "Yes, you get this kind of thing all the time."

"Fate-sama is not that kind of person! What do you claim to know about him?-! His noble goal-"

"Is genocide!" Shion interrupted.

"Basically," Mana said, "he's decided there's nothing for it but to annihilate Mundus Magicus in its entirety, correct? I can't say I find that noble."

"You're wrong! This is the only way to save the unblessed souls of all these powerless people!"

"You sicken me. It is fools like you, with your pretty words and lofty principles, who will bring misery to the masses."

"How can you… Do you mean to say that one should abandon a starving young girl who has never known her father to her fate?-! Or a young boy who has never known his mother, sent off with a gun in his hand to fight on the battlefield?-!"

"Do not put words in our mouths, girl!" Marie shouted.

"I'm not saying any of that" Mana said. "I'm just saying that people like you are the very-"

"Enough!"

Negi's sudden interruption brought the room back to silence.

"There is nothing to be gained from laying blame upon Luna-san. We can have this discussion at a later date."

"…As you wish."

"Tatsumiya-san, Kilkar-san, I would like you two to keep watch over her. And no fighting! The rest of you, could I have a minute of your time? Luna-san… Thank you for telling us all these things. It must have been quite difficult for you. Could we continue this discussion in a little more detail later on?"

"Y… Yes… With pleasure. When… exactly… would that…"

"Don't worry; I'll be right back."

"R…Right. I'll be waiting."

As the others filed out of the room, Teana stayed behind for a moment… and walked up to Luna and grabbed her by the front of the shirt.

"I don't care what self-righteous justification you extremists tell yourselves" she said with cold anger in her voice, her piercing blue eyes focusing on Luna's ones which were now wide with sudden fear. "You are all still planning the extinction of this world's people. That makes you our enemies. As I see it, you are not a guest of Negi's as he tells you and himself; you are a _prisoner_. …In the less than a year since I left my homeworld, I have faced and killed countless thousands of enemies – religious extremists who sought to extinguish the human species, every last man, woman, & child; terrorists who used the excuse of earning "autonomy" to butcher civilians, set off nuclear warheads in civilian population centers, and endanger humanity's survival against those previously-mentioned foes; bloodthirsty soldiers of a power-mad tyrant; vicious beasts who seek to rip apart any other sapient beings in their path; psychotic killers who followed a madman who sought to use terror and mass death to bring fear-induced periods of "peace" to a war-torn world.

"You and your Master, and those who follow him, are no different in my eyes. You, little girl, are a villain tricked and deceived into believing herself a hero. And when the time comes, I will find a way to save this world's people, and your master Averruncus and those who follow him will _die _at either Negi's hand or my own, just like every other foe I have conquered. And if you stand against us, I will kill _you _as well, even if I have to fight Negi himself if he tries to stop me. Good guys win, bad guys die; that's how things work in my book.

"You'd best hope your master inexplicably decides to lay down arms and surrender peaceably, for that is the only way I will spare him when the time comes. And _you_… You'd best not speak another positive word about the deluded, genocidal monster Averruncus in my presence again, or I will cut your tongue out. And if you choose to fight against us, alongside him, in the final battle, I will take my swords and slice you into 100 pieces."

She then shoved the elf-girl backwards onto the couch, then spun on her heels and left the room, leaving to join Negi & company. Luna was pale and quivering, too utterly terrified to say anything. Mana, of all people, had jaw-dropped at Teana's display and words, while Erohn made a mental note to speak with Colonel Holland about Gamma-1's lingering "issues".

Several minutes later, Teana came up to the group on the beach near the two gigantic boulders Negi and Kotarō had used in their training. They'd been waiting for her.

"…What are your thoughts on our situation, everyone?" Negi asked.

"It certainly is a shocking revelation" Kaede N. said. "I can understand why the Governor-General is so troubled."

"It would indeed seem to be an irresolvable issue…" Setsuna added in. "Frankly, I feel it is beyond our abilities."

"And what's more," Shion said, "the enemy has Asuna-san in their clutches."

"An irresolvable issue…" Negi muttered. "In which case… what Fate is trying to do…"

"Sensei…" Chisame interrupted. "Let's not go into that for the moment. Right now, doing something about the state of your body comes first."

At that, Setsuna pulled out the _Magia Erebea _scroll. With everyone's okay, she undid the scroll, and a bright flash revealed the duplication of Evangeline… playing an old video game… while stark naked. After Marie covered Negi's eyes and the shouting passed, the situation was explained to her.

"The pertinent issue here" she said, now fully clothed, "is your _Magia Erebea _running rampant, yes? It's a technique originally unique to myself. It was not created for use by mortal humans. If one such as yourself, who does not even possess a magical elemental affinity for Darkness, were to make continual use of it, some manner of corrosion may occur. I had anticipated that much. Still… I hadn't expected you to be quite this 'compatible'. If you keep on losing control like this… you will, just like me, cease to be human. In fact, what will likely happen is that your mind and soul will be utterly consumed, and you will become a daemon. …Well, if you are unable to endure the transformation, you will simply die. But strictly speaking, this process would actually be a form of evolution into a higher being. It's not necessarily all bad.

"In fact, now that you've decided to follow in your father's footsteps, it might actually be more convenient for you to become a being of that nature, don't you think?"

…

"Oi" Chisame said to Negi. "Stop actually thinking about it."

"Of course," the Evangeline duplicate continued, "after the transformation is completed, you'd be no better than a beast. It's a delicate procedure; you'll probably want to avoid it for the time being."

"…No! I have to do this as soon as possible!"

"Very well… But this will be uncharted territory, even for me. It will be extremely dangerous. I can't give you any guarantees of success. Are you sure you want to go through with it?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, and one more thing: once the process is complete, the scroll will expire. In other words, this will be the last lesson I give you! If you understand, then let's see some spirit from you!"

"Yes, Master!-!"

"Nicely said."

And in a blur of motion, Evangeline initiated the transformation.

"What the hell are you doing?-!" Setsuna shouted, as Negi began to transform into his 'Erebus Daemon' form.

"I'm forcibly initiating the frenzy. I could use a hand here. Boy… the power of Darkness comes from the negative side of your own self; an integral, inseparable part of your nature. Your problem is that it's that side where the fount of your power, the core of yourself, truly lies. Simply accepting it isn't going to be enough. You must find a way to bend it to your will. I can't tell you what that way is, nor can anyone else! It's something you'll have to find for yourself! It's up to you whether you're consumed by this power or you bring it under control!"

She then turned to the others.

"Any of you who can fight, help me control him! This will be a difficult battle, so prepare yourselves…"

The transformation completed, and the thing that Negi had become sized up its opponents. In response, a flare of green chakra signaled Shion's transition to her 2-Tailed Form, while Teana's red-tinted aura flared, her Sharingan active, and Charon readied itself at the end of the now-Barrier-Jacketed Marie's right arm. Kaede and Setsuna drew their blades, while Evangeline charged herself up with high-level reinforcement magic. Chisame and Chamo got the hell out of the way.

The daemon that was Negi roared and charged.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

They'd been in here for who-knows-how-many days, trying over and over again to help Negi gain control of his Darkness, to no avail. Not all the events had been bad, though. Right now, Negi sat on a rock, looking at the three new Pactio cards in his hand – Ako, Makie, and Yūna.

"Hey, kid."

Negi barely looked up as Teana took a seat next to him.

"You okay?" she asked as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah… I've been going over what Makie-san told me. …I never thought she could be profound…"

"You don't have to be book-smart to be wise."

"Are _you _okay, Teana-san?"

"Yeah; a bit tired, but I'm alright. …If you ever get that form under control, you'll be a monster on the battlefield… figuratively, I mean." She then looked at what he was holding. "This makes, like, how many girls you've formed Kiss-Contracts with?"

"F-Fifteen…" he blushed as he answered.

She patted him on the head. "Our little Casanova…"

"I-It's not like that!" he protested. "It's the contract thing! And besides, there are only two girls – Nodoka-san and Makie-san – who like me like that. Maybe two-and-a-half if we count Ako-san's thing with my older self that she's still trying to work through."

At this, Teana burst out laughing.

"You have no idea, do you? How many girls have the hots for you?"

"…Do you know?"

"Well… I do know that Yue-san and Ahsoka-chan both most likely have feelings for you. Ayaka-san might have an… unhealthy… attraction to you, but I can't tell if it's misplaced sisterly love or something romantic or sexual. Chisame-san is in the process of falling for you, methinks, but she refuses to admit that to herself, much less anyone else. I think Asuna-san – the _real _Asuna-san – has some bizarre halfway point between romantic love and sibling love for you. I think Ako-chan might be just now starting to fall for you, and the same goes for Akira-san. I'm pretty sure Chachamaru-san has some degree of feelings for you. Evangeline-san, I believe, is in the same boat as Chisame-san. Konoka-chan and Setsuna-san have really strong love for each other, but they might possibly also have just a little interest in you. Marie thinks you're cute, but she says you're not her type. Our pris… _guest _Luna-san seems to be falling for you, too. …I think that about covers it."

By this point, Negi was on the verge of passing out; his scarlet blush had covered his face.

"T-T-That many girls?-!"

"You have a habit of saying things that can easily be taken as romantic suggestions without meaning to or knowing you're doing it. And you're a hybrid of 'irresistibly adorable' and 'mature and manly' that tends to get girls' attention in certain ways. And the fact that the contract involves kissing you helps things along, too."

"…What about you?"

"I like you, Negi-kun, but not quite romantically. Though… after I've properly made myself Subaru's, and you've had your own first 'experience', I wouldn't mind having a little… fun… with you."

She proceeded to run a hand softly along his cheek and then deliver a split-second kiss. After another minute of silence to let the awkwardness fade, Teana turned to Negi again.

"Have you thought up a way to solve this whole big issue with the planet?"

"Actually, I think I might have an idea."

"So do I. I might have to track down a Forerunner artifact or two to make my plan work, but if it does work this planet will be stable for a _long _time – like, dozens of thousands of years, at the very least."

"Mine could make this world stable indefinitely, or at least until the Sun starts dying, but it could take decades to implement, and… the cost could be rather high for some parties involved."

"Let's talk, then. Maybe we can merge our plans, make something with a higher probability of success with fewer negative consequences. Also, before we leave this training realm, there's a technique – a _jutsu _– that I want to teach you."

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

"You two ready?" Chamo asked the two girls as they stepped into the Pactio circle.

"Ready" Teana said, a light blush on her face.

"R-Ready" Marie said, her blush much deeper, considering just who she was about to form a Contract with.

"Okay! You may begin!"

Teana reached out and laid a hand on Marie's quivering shoulder, steadying her, and smiled at her, which only made the shorter girl blush deeper. Nonetheless, she steadied herself and leaned up & in, both girls closing their eyes.

As soon as their lips met, both girls felt the other's magical energy flowing into and through their body, the rune-circle at their feet glowing white. Marie gave a happy sigh; there were two girls in her life that she had feelings for – one she had already formed an all-the-way relationship with, and now the other was kissing her! She also felt near-overwhelmed as the redhead's tremendous magical power enveloped and filled her, but it was by no means an unpleasant sensation. Instinctively, one of her arms wrapped around Teana's upper body, her hand on the back of the girl's head; she felt as the redhead's arm wrapped around her waist, the other hand grabbing hold of Marie's free hand and intertwining their fingers.

Finally, after nearly a full minute, they separated, both their faces flushed. With Teana's unspoken permission, Marie allowed herself to swoon in the arms of the slightly taller girl, who held her close. After several seconds, each of them reached out and grabbed their copy of the Pactio card. It showed Marie in her Barrier Jacket with Charon out, except the arm-cannon Device looked slightly different, a few extra glowing bits on it. Marie stepped back, summoned her Barrier Jacket and Device, and before she could even say "_Adeat_", her card disappeared into particles of light, flowing into and merging with Charon.

"New firing modes successfully installed" the Device reported. "Wave Bursts online. Ice Bursts online. Plasma Bursts online. Light Bursts online. Dark Bursts online. Annihilator Bursts online. Concussion Missile system online. Seeker Missile system online. Missile/Burst Combination systems online."

Marie felt shock as she recognized the pattern in the new modes' names. As she tried each one out over the next several minutes, shock became elation and joy.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

Negi had done as much as he could, gaining at least partial control of his form. Now, in less than hour they would all exit the temporally-displaced chamber and discuss things with the others. Before that, however, Nodoka had pulled Negi aside, so it was just the two of them.

"N-Negi-sensei… I know w-we're about to head off to what could be our last battle."

"…Yeah… I've tried not to think about it that way, but…"

"Well… I w-was thinking… If w-we don't make it out of this… and you and I don't get the chance… to… to… Ah, to hell with it!"

Before Negi could react, Nodoka pulled him close and kissed him passionately. Despite the shock and embarrassment, he found himself automatically reciprocating after several seconds. Finally, after nearly a minute she pulled away.

"I wanted to do _that _while I had the chance,in case one or both of us don't make it out of the coming battle" Nodoka said breathlessly.

Negi just nodded dumbly, his face blushing bright. "S-shall we, then?" he muttered.

She smiled and suppressed a giggle, and the two of them went to join up with the rest of the group.

**-****_SCENE BREAK_****-**

In a flash of light, several people appeared from within the training chamber. Ahsoka walked up.

"Good to see you guys are out, Boss. How'd things go in there?"

"We did all we could" Shion replied.

"Something's come up" Ahsoka continued. "Something good. Come on up to the bridge and I'll show you."

The group followed the Togrutan teen up to the ship's control center. When they arrived, they saw Zhal Arum speaking over a holo-channel to Colonel Holland; another nearby screen showing the joint Hellas-Megalomesembrian fleet also showed a new and far larger addition: the _Starshot_, the 1600-meter vessel dwarfing even the two local empires' largest 700-meter "dreadnaughts".

"_Good to see you again, Gamma-1_" Holland said over the comm. channel. "_The Ship-Master's been giving me an abridged report on what's happened since we lost contact. I'm assuming you have something more detailed you can send me?_"

"Yes, sir" Teana replied. "I'll transmit the mission-report files up to present to you right away." She brought up Mirage, currently in its card form, and a small holo-panel sprang up from the Device's core. Teana tapped in a few commands, and the data was transmitted to the _Starshot_.

"_We have the data. I think we'll wait until after the present situation is dealt with, however. Ship-Master Arum has informed me of the decaying state of this pocket realm – how it is in danger of collapse within what our scanners suggest could be as little as 13 years, if not even less. He has also briefed me on the extremists you are currently clashing with, and the… less-than-morally-sound method they have come up with to address the problem._"

"Our foes are at levels of power that could flatten any soldiers you send, Colonel. Recommend you stick to fire support; we have confirmed the enemy has air assets that they will almost certainly send against the coalition fleet."

"_Then our ship's guns and fighters will be ready for them, as will our Boarder Defense personnel. I'll start going over the data you've sent me; perhaps I can get through some of it before the enemy launches their attack. Good hunting, Gamma. Holland out._"

After Negi finished his own conversation with Takahata and Gödel, he led everyone up to the ship's deck, using it and the second ship's wing to hold everyone as he discussed the group's plans.

"…And so you see," he said to the group, "it seems like things have developed into an absolutely terrible situation! However… Our objectives remain the same: the safe retrieval of Anya, and the retrieval of the Great Grand-Master Key to the Code of the Lifemaker! If we can obtain the Key, then that should bring our foes' plans to a grinding halt, and more importantly, with it we can resurrect the people who were erased!"

"I guess it's not quite time to tell everyone the whole story…" Chisame muttered as the group got themselves pumped up.

Kazumi and Haruna, with help from Chachamaru, then set about explaining the layout of the hostile territory ahead.

"The signal from Anya's badge is coming from the Gravekeeper's Palace" Kazumi explained. "That's probably where our main enemies will be as well. In other words, this is our target. Once we've achieved our objective, we head to the Gateport inside it and get the hell outta here."

"What about that humongous barrier surrounding the whole place?" Yūna asked.

"The _Starshot _will take care of it" Haruna replied.

"So, to sum up everything we've learned," Negi said, "we fly in once the _Starshot_ punches a hole in the barrier, break in at the bottom where the security is weakest, save Anya, steal the Key, and escape through the Gateport to Earth."

"This is the same place where Negi-kun's father fought the Lifemaker," Konoka said, "so it holds quite a bit of special meaning, huh?"

"Now," Negi continued, "as I have outlined, we will be splitting into four main groups! The first group will stay in Johnny-san's ship, which will keep a relatively safe distance from the action. The second group will be in the _Paru-sama_, maintaining a position in the airspace just outside the palace and readying an escape route. The third group will be Infiltration Group A – their objective is Anya's safe retrieval. The fourth and final group is Infiltration Group B, whose objective is to obtain the Great Grand-Master Key. The groups each of you are assigned to are listed on the sheets I have handed out. If you have any opinions or requests to voice, then please tell me.

"We will begin the operation in about 30 minutes, immediately after our report to Kurt-san. If you feel the need to eat or use the bathroom, please do so within this time. Well then, everyone… Let's go save this world!"

A rousing cheer went up amongst the group, and everyone then began making final preparations. However, as they congregated, a very unexpected and unwelcome guest made her presence known.

"I think I'll start the slaughter with the dog-eared doll…" Tsukuyomi said, manic bloodlust in her eyes which were now Darkness-tainted a golden-yellow.

Before anyone else could react, a flash of light & lightning appeared, and Tsukuyomi was now being held up off the ground by the neck by Negi in his _Raiten Sōsō _form.

"I shall not allow you to harm any of my companions" Negi said. "I would suggest you surrender."

Tsukuyomi's response was to use her sword to slice through his arm… which proved wholly ineffective due to his present semi-incorporeal form. However, a rising knee-strike to his elbow, somehow, did land a blow. Tsukuyomi spun free, unleashing a wave of chakra from a kick that sent Negi back several feet. She went for Nodoka… only to be intercepted by Shion, her chakra-charged metal blade meeting the green-haired girl's psionic-energy one. This was followed by a blow to the stomach from Negi which knocked her back, away from Nodoka. Negi then unleashed a furious melee combo ("_Haō Sekkō_!") that ended with sending Tsukuyomi flying at great speed away from the ship, crashing straight through several floating boulders as she went. He then flashed out in pursuit, coming to a stop standing before her atop a damaged floating boulder.

"Tsukuyomi-san, you will not be able to defeat me at my current level. If you serve my enemies as a hired mercenary, it would be easiest for us all if you surrendered immediately."

After a few seconds of staring at Negi, she got a delirious grin and a deep blush on her face, but then shook herself back to focus.

"Negi-kun… Do you truly believe I'm doing this for money? You're such a child… This world is meaningless. I don't seek money; I only seek bloodshed, carnage, and death! …It's about time you realize that such people exist. Though I suppose that, in that sense, Fate-san is but a child as well. …I have a message from him; he says he's waiting for you. I can plainly see, when I look at him, that the desire to fight you again burns within him more than any other desire he has ever felt! You really are Mr. Popular, aren't you?"

And then she brought out a familiar ornate black key.

"Of course," she continued, "this is assuming you even make it there in the first place. Try not to disappoint, now! _Okuki Yakō_!-!"

Several large black summoning circles appeared in the air to the left of the two ships. From them came a massive horde of airborne demons. They charged the two ships, only for a white-lightning blur to cut through them, taking out nearly a fifth of their numbers.

"I'll hold them off!" Negi shouted. "Get moving to the Gravekeeper's Palace! Go!-!"

The two ships opened up their throttles and shot off, dozens of airborne demons in hot pursuit. Sayo manned the _Paru-sama_'s aft turret, and the soldiers aboard added their small-arms fire, but there were too many. Suddenly, heavy-caliber fire from behind cut through the demons, culling their numbers. A flight of eight UNSC Sky-Hawk jets flew in, taking escort positions around the two airships.

"_Gamma-1, this is Echo Leader_" the flight leader radioed. "_We'll provide escort to the target zone._"

"_Echo Leader, we have multiple large hostiles at 12-o-clock_" reported the flight-leader's wingman.

"_Fox 2, Fox 2_"

At once, a hail of infrared-guided missiles launched from the fighters, streaking ahead of the ships and impacting the larger flight-demons up ahead, blowing them to bits. The flight of ships & fighters sped through the smoke. Soon, they emerged from the field of mist, and the floating ruins of Old Ostia – and the glowing barrier – came into view up ahead.

"So when's that barrier coming down?" Kaede Fuyō asked.

In response, a huge, glowing, violet-and-white beam of charged particles traveling at relativistic speed shot by overhead, impacting the massive barrier. The weapon was, at full charge, capable of burning a hole clean through a Covenant assault carrier, shields and all. Against such power, the barrier surrounding Ostia stood no chance; it failed after only 0.8 seconds of the continuous beam, shattering as the brilliant light punched through it. The beam continued, soaring over the ancient floating castle and punching through the other side of the now-collapsing barrier and then, having more than reached escape velocity, shooting off into space. The golden-yellow barrier finished coming apart, Old Ostia laid bare.

"Now _that's _firepower!" Haruna cheered. "Onward!"

A flare of _ki_/chakra signaled Setsuna's departure back the way everyone came, as she went off to assist Negi in fighting off the pursuing demons. Kilometers away, the enemy air forces reached the coalition fleet led by the _Starshot_; the destroyer's shields and point-defense guns came alive, while swarms of fighters flew out of its hangars and began engaging the enemy. Another barrage of shots from the Skyhawks cleared the way for the Infiltration flight. Suddenly, however, three massive shadow-demons came out of nowhere and attacked. The _Paru-sama_'s shields withstood their opening attack… barely. One of the Skyhawks was not so fortunate; the pilot attempted to eject from his now-falling aircraft, only for the shadow-demon's claws to come down onto the craft as it passed, crushing it and killing the pilot instantly.

"_Shit! They got Echo-4!_"

"_Light 'em up! Guns, guns, guns!_"

The Skyhawks went on the attack, each jet's four 50mm cannons unloading at the airborne titans. The focused fire on the central one, the shells shredding the beast's wings and punching into and through its skull, killing it; it began plummeting to the ground far below, dissolving into darkness as it went.

"_That's for Poloski, you Satan-reject!_"

"_Stay focused, boys; we got two more still hounding our transports!_"

The remaining two airborne dragon-demons got into position to roast the two ships… and were skewered by a _Titano-Ktonon_. Negi and Setsuna flew alongside the several craft. Soon, the Ostia Airport was in sight.

"_This is as far as we can go_" reported Echo Leader, as the seven Skyhawks turned and began flying away from the city. "_We're gonna go help the Mothership fend off enemy air forces. Good hunting, Gamma._"

"Solid copy, Echo Leader" Teana replied. "We'll make sure to kill some for your lost man."

"_Much appreciated. Echo Flight out._"

As the two ships approached the Gravekeeper's Palace, however, a fusillade of large steel blades – a spell – flew out from the tallest tower, striking the _Paru-sama_. The shields held, and the two ships dove down, heading for the dock at the palace's bottom. They went in, sliding along the floor at high speed, crashing through pillars. Ahsoka and Shion both used the Force to slow down the two ships' speed, while Negi cast a Wind spell to further protect the ships. Soon they came to a stop.

"Report!" Teana shouted.

"No injuries beyond bumps & bruises, ma'am!" one of the ODSTs shouted. "The whole group's transponders are showing all green!"

"Johnny-san, are you and your passengers alright?" Negi asked.

"_We're fine_" the trucker replied. "_I'm gonna have to patch the ship up a little before she'll fly again, though._"

"Same here" Haruna said. "It should take us about 40 minutes to get this thing airworthy again."

"Understood" Negi said. "We'll leave some guards here."

"Negi-sensei, we have a problem" Kaede Nagase reported, pointing at a figure that came walking toward the group. Everyone combat-capable leapt out of the ships and got ready. However, as the figure came close, shock reigned as everyone recognized her.

"Y… How are you…"

"Hello, Negi-san" said Zazie.

**_-CHAPTER END-_**

Cliffhanger! ...Well, not if you've read the manga.


	19. Palace Battle

Lemme just say this…

_**GODDAMNIT AKAMATSU, WHAT THE FUCK?-!-?-!-?-!**_

Also, if anyone is worried about Teana being so mercilessly ruthless here, it's because _Cosmo Entelecheia _is bringing up memories of the Covenant for her, and she sees CE as no better than the genocidal Covvies.

THIS-CHAPTER DISCLAIMER: I do not own _Kingdom Hearts_, which is the source of a battle song picked for this chapter

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"She… She can't possibly be here!" Mana said, drawing her gun and pointing it at the girl who looked like Zazie. "This must be a trap!"

Ahsoka took a few steps forward, staring intently.

"…She's not Zazie" she said. "Her life-force feels similar, but it's not identical."

"Zazie, did you say?" the girl said. "You have met my younger sister?"

"Zazie-san never mentioned a twin sister" Negi said, shocked.

"She and I are… not on the best of terms at the moment" the girl replied. "I have no intention of seriously harming any of right now. I merely intend to stop you."

She suddenly flared with power, and most of those present found themselves immobilized by some invisible force.

"The path that you pursue, Negi-san, will result in greater bloodshed than the path which Fate seeks. I think that should be enough for you to understand my meaning. I will grant you one final choice. If you agree to leave now…"

And the scenery changed, and now everyone was back at Mahora Academy.

"Indeed, I should say… that this would bring an end to more than half of the problems you currently face, wouldn't it?"

Suddenly everything around them shattered, revealing they were still in the hangar of the Gravekeeper's Palace. A burst of chakra signaled Teana's breaking free.

"Never cast a _genjutsu _on an Uchiha, girl" she said, glaring at the dark-skinned interloper. "It won't hold us for long."

"I will ask you once more, Springfield" the not-Zazie continued, ignoring the others. "The path that you pursue will result in more carnage and bloodshed than the path which Fate seeks to follow. Will you pursue it nonetheless? …The path that you seek to follow will doubtless lead to the future which Chao Lingshen sought to prevent."

"…I am…" Negi replied "…aware of that… I suspected it. Even so… I have a plan to accomplish this goal while preventing her future. I _will _continue on this path!"

"…Is that so? Then I have no choice." In a flash of light, a card appeared in her hand.

"Activate! Magic Lantern Circus!"

There was a brilliant, blinding, all-encompassing flash of light. And Chisame & Makie watched in horror as everyone else, all around them, toppled over unconscious. All attempts to awaken any of them were in vain.

"It is only natural…" Zazie's elder sister said as she stepped forward. "The more unfulfilled wishes a person carries, the greater the void that exists within their heart… the more difficult it is for them to escape from this enticing dream… from _Cosmo Entelecheia_. …Though, this is not the genuine enchantment. The true _Cosmo Entelecheia_ absorbs the subject, body and all, into an entirely separate world for all eternity. Incidentally, by its very nature, this technique is ineffective against those who feel fulfillment in their lives."

"Hold it!" Chisame shouted. "Makie might fight that description, but how the hell do I?-! I spend all my free time cooped up in my room in front of a computer screen, living my whole life on the Internet! I'm, like, the classic example of someone who doesn't have a fulfilling life! In fact, considering how much time I spend sulking about how badly real life sucks, you could call me the exact opposite!"

"…Or so you tell yourself" the other girl replied. "But deep down, to have avoided my spell, you _must _be truly, deeply satisfied with how your life is now."

"But… That can't be true! I'm not like them! I never wanted to get pulled into all this magical shit! I hate things I can't understand, and that includes everything to do with magic! There's _no fucking way I could be content with how my life is now!-!_"

"The conscious and subconscious mind do not always agree with each other, human. But worry not. I believe I shall… send you to the true Eternal Garden the old-fashioned way…"

With that, her fingers transformed into very long and sharp claws, and it became clear exactly what she meant. Chisame and Makie drew their Artifacts, but it was clear they were outmatched here. Suddenly, Zazie's sister leapt back, barely avoiding bisection, as a massive figure leapt in, his plasma sword slicing through the space where she'd been. She sized up the new arrival.

"These two girls are not the only ones present who are content with their lives" Zhal Arum said. "I am quite happy with how things are going in my life at the moment – free of the Prophets' lies, my elder brother a famed hero, Ship-Master of a Forerunner vessel exploring entire new realms… What more could I possibly ask for? Your spell is worthless against me."

"…I see. I suppose you intend to challenge me in order to safeguard the lives of these humans and yourself?"

Zhal readied his blade. "Quite."

She charged, her claws wreathed in Darkness magic, and swung at Zhal, who brought his sword up and blocked, the superheated plasma and Darkness clashing against each other, neither giving way. She swung her other set at him, only for his other plasma sword, held in his other hand, to come up and block that one as well. It quickly transitioned to a fast-paced swordfight, and the not-quite-human was nonplussed that such a large creature was fast enough to parry and dodge her attacks.

Suddenly, there was a burst of white lightning, revealing Negi, fully conscious and in his _Raiten Sōsō _form. Zhal leapt away as the boy came at not-Zazie, blocking her strike and then calling down a lightning-bolt on the both of them. It faded, revealing that the girl was more or less unharmed.

"I see…" she said. "So my meddling little sister leant you a hand."

"Yes" Negi replied. "I owe Zazie-san my thanks. And besides… No matter what might happen, I still have to meet with Fate Averruncus…"

"In that case" she said. "I have no choice but to stop you, even if it means crippling you for life so that you no longer pose a threat."

"Why are you doing this?"

"This world is doomed to perish. When that happens, most of the 1.2 billion citizens will die with it, and even those who are able to survive on the barren wasteland where they find themselves stranded will be forced into a war with the people of Earth, spanning more than 100 years, as their only hope of survival. The only way to avert this tragedy in its entirety is to proceed with the plan that Fate and his companions have prepared: sealing this world away into _Cosmo Entelecheia_.

"I may not be a citizen of _Mundus Magicus _nor of Earth, but as one with the power to fight, I am duty-bound to not allow this unprecedented calamity to go unchecked. I have kept watch over you for some time, praying that the son of the hero who saved this world would not pursue such a foolish course of action… But I am left disappointed."

"…Why? Why are you so certain that there is only one possible future?"

"What do you mean?"

"The future in which this world is destroyed."

"…That is an inevitable future which cannot be changed. According to the calculations of my research institute, the collapse will commence within nine-and-a-half years at the latest."

"Ah, that's good."

Everyone except Negi turned to where Teana pulled herself to her feet.

"We were worried about the timescale," she said, "but that's _plenty _of time." 

"Fate!" Negi shouted. "You're watching this, aren't you?-! Well, listen up! I will do battle with you, just as you wish! But you must hear this!-! The root of this whole affair is the collapse of _Mundus Magicus_, a future that has been deemed inevitable. But… Teana-san and I have combined ideas… and created a plan to _prevent _that future. So you wait right where you are, Fate. I'll make you understand, no matter what it takes!"

After a few seconds, everyone could _feel _the sheer malice radiating out from higher up the tower. Fate was indeed watching & listening.

"I was well aware that you would never be convinced so easily" Negi continued. "That's why I will _force _you to believe me, with my own hands! So you wait right where you are; I'm coming for you!-!"

"W…" Chisame stammered. "How could you have come up with something? When?"

"I came up with a plan during my spare time, and I performed a basic experiment that supported my theory, but there were a few… undesirable elements. Teana-san outlined her own plan, which was a work in progress, and we were able to combine our ideas into a coherent and workable idea. I'll need a lot of people to cooperate with me to make it work, though."

Suddenly, a humongous black hand/claw of darkness came smashing down, Negi leaping to the side.

"A plan, you say…?"

Not-Zazie flared with dark power, horns sprouting from her head and black wings from her lower back. A summoning circle appeared behind her, and from it emerged a large black entity with a white mask.

"This girl…" Negi said in surprise. "She's a _Mazōku_!"

"So, child… Are you serious about this? I can hardly afford to believe such words from a boy no more than 10 years of age."

"I can appreciate that…" Negi replied. "But this is, nevertheless, my answer. If the plan that we have formulated succeeds, then this entire issue can be solved."

"You are wrong! The issue will _not _be solved. Your path will only lead to bloodshed. It would seem… I really do have no choice but to kill you."

The guardian entity behind her charged up and then released a massive beam of destructive energy… which faded to reveal that several individuals had blocked the beam from hitting Negi and his group.

"About time you all woke up" Teana said to Setsuna, Kū, Mana, Kaede N., and the rest of Gamma.

"Apologies for out lateness" Nagase said.

"A world where Satoshi-kun never vanished _and _I had Mai-chan as well was… very enticing" Shion said.

"I broke free when I realized I didn't deserve to be so happy with my family," Marie said, "like nothing was wrong…"

"I wish I really could have been there to stop my Master's fall…" Ahsoka murmured sadly. "But the past is set in stone…"

"Rin-kun…" Kaede F. muttered, holding a hand to her heart.

Soon, the others came to as well.

"So you have all awakened" the _Mazōku _said. "Nonetheless, I cannot allow you to obstruct the plan. I will send all of you to the beyond at the same time. And _this _time, with your bodies annihilated, your souls' destination will be the _true _Eternal Garden, from which you will _never _return!-!"

"Everyone" Mana said. "Leave this to me. You all gather the others and head upward."

"I can't do that!" Negi replied. "This girl's strength is of an unknown quantity! For all we know, she could be more powerful than Fate and his allies!"

"All the more reason you should conserve your strength. Trust in me, boy."

Mana pressed a button hidden in her sleeve, and several jumping landmines bounced up above the enemy… and, upon detonation, slammed her into the ground.

"Chao-san's gravity mines" Mana explained as she pulled out her sniper rifle. She fired, and a deep pit opened up underneath the _Mazōku_, sending her plummeting.

"Now go do your job sensei. You have a duty to save the princess and your childhood friend, and settle things with your rival once and for all."

With that, she leapt down into the hole.

"She can handle herself just fine" Kaede N. said. "Especially if she's planning on doing what I think she's doing."

"…Very well. Get the rest of the group back on their feet, and let's get ready to move!"

Within less than five minutes, everyone was awake, alert, and listening to Negi.

"There may have been a few alterations," he said, "but the plan is, overall, progressing smoothly! Team 1 – everyone not on Teams 2 or 3 – is in charge of repairing the ships and securing us an escape route. Team 2, consisting of Kotarō-kun, Natsumi-san, Yue-san, Sayo-chan, Asakura-san, Chamo-kun, Beatrix-san, and Sangheili Spec-Ops Yaros Endarl, is to rescue Anya. Team 3, consisting of myself, Asuna-san, Konoka-san, Setsuna-san, Nodoka-san, Kū Fei-san, Gamma Team, Nagase-san carrying Ako, Akira, Yūna, & Chisame-san in her cloak, Arum-san, and Kilkar-san, is to retrieve the Code of the Lifemaker. We can expect to clash with the enemy's main forces.

"Now that both ships have crashed here along with the rest of us, we no longer have anywhere that can be called a safe retreat. If you all… feel that you can trust me enough, then…"

"We've all got your back, kid" Marie said, and everyone else voiced their agreement.

"Alright! Let's move out!"

They didn't get far before a trio of large shadow-summons blocked their way. However, Negi, Teana, and Kaede Nagase came forward, readying their newest techniques – a swirling sphere of energy appeared in each of Negi's hands, a large sphere from Kaede & her Shadow Clone, and a blazing red, fire-swathed sphere from Teana and her Shadow Clone. They dashed forward and slammed their attacks home:

"_Rasenrengan_!"

"_Ōdama Rasengan_!"

"_Katon: Rasengan_!"

In a dual resonating pair of rotating blasts, a massive spiral blast, and a swirling, hyper-concentrated chaotic burst of fire, the trio of demons ceased to exist, and the assault squad continued on. A horde of lesser demons came charging, but Negi used his staff as a medium, creating a halberd of solid lightning-magic, and began carving them apart en masse. The group advanced into the spiral stairway area and began ascending with speed, cutting and blasting through minor summons on the way. Finally, they reached a large, open room with many platforms. After steeling themselves (and asking if it was really okay that Negi had been in his _Raiten Sōsō _form for so long, to which he replied not to worry), they opened a nearby door, leading them into a massive, black-walled room. Ahead, on the central platform, stood five figures: Tsukuyomi, Koyomi, Tamaki, Homura, and Dynamis.

"Welcome," Dynamis said, "members of _Ala Alba_, children of the next generation."

Negi immediately flared up in power and flashed over to right in front of Dynamis, striking out… only to come up just short of striking the man, due to a large and extremely complex defensive barrier surrounding him. However, Negi's right hand transformed into a set of claws, and he dug into the barrier and twisted, causing it to shatter. Unfortunately, Dynamis called forth the Lifemaker's Code, unleashing a barrage of black shadowy tentacle-blasts that pushed Negi back at great speed. Lightning-fast, Shion void-jumped up and, activating her Warp Blade, sliced free the tendril that had been rocketing Negi toward the wall; thus freed, he caught himself and flashed down to the others' side.

"It seems hardly fitting," Dynamis said, "in this battle for the fate of an entire world, to have people simply watching from the sidelines… Lifemaker's Code!"

And in a flash, "Asuna", Konoka, Chisame, Nodoka, and the Sports Quartet were forcibly ejected from Kaede Nagase's Artifact.

"What the hell?" Marie shouted. "The Code's only supposed to affect things based on this world!"

"That was its original and primary purpose" Dynamis replied, "but its secondary purpose, added after its initial creation, was the nullification of nearly any and all magic, including some Artifacts. Truly, our Lord and Master's power is great indeed."

"Everyone!" Negi shouted. "Get back into Kaede-san's cloak before-"

Tsukuyomi, Homura, and Tamaki surrounded the ejected girls faster than they could blink.

"Foul Terrans, whose mere existence is an affront to our Lord," Homura growled, "be burned to ashes!"

And, after so long holding it back to as not to alarm her new friends of these two worlds, Teana's full killer's instinct was finally loosed once more.

At the same time as a Force Push from Ahsoka smashed into Tsukuyomi like a cannonball, hurtling her away, and a flash-stepped forearm strike from Kilkar sent Tamaki tumbling several meters, Teana moved in a blur. The girl called Homura felt a devastating impact smash into her upper chest, sending her back nearly 50 feet. She then found herself being held up off the ground by the neck, and she felt heat, total numbness in her legs, and sudden, terrible, burning pain in her midsection. Eyes wide and breath seized, she looked down and saw the orange energy blade of Mirage Longsword buried in her chest, right through the center, just below her ribcage, and coming out the other side through her back; it had gone right through her spine as well as, due to the angle, more than one major vessel and/or organ. The hilt of the blade, less than two inches from the dark fire-user's chest, was still in the gloved hand of Teana, whose red _Sharingan _eyes stared coldly into Homura's shocked and horrified ones, the redhead's other hand tightening on her neck.

"As I said to Shiori when I terrified her into compliance," Teana growled, "for all that you genocidal monsters have done, I intend to leave none of you alive."

"_HOMURA!-!-!_"

With yet more dazzling speed, Teana yanked her superheated energy blade back out of the girl's torso, tossed the dying girl aside like a ragdoll, and dodged Koyomi's retaliatory attack. Scoffing at the catgirl's ineffectual rage, she brought up a knee-strike so hard that Koyomi felt something rupture, followed by a blow to the side of the head that send her tumbling away, barely conscious. She readied her blade to stab downward into Homura, to finish her off, only for a huge blur of movement to strike her, sending her tumbling through the air, catching herself and skidding safely to a stop several meters away. Dynamis then grabbed hold of Homura and flashed back to his original position.

"Lifemaker's Code!"

Tendrils of energy flowed rapidly out of the key and into the dying girl's body, sealing the wound and repairing every bit of damage done. Homura shakily got to her feet, fully healed, and glared at Teana with a mix of rage and irrepressible fear.

"So I guess I'll have to kill you first, big guy" Teana said to Dynamis.

"What is this?" Homura growled. "The reports said that none of Springfield's group had the stomach to kill!"

"Apparently the reports were badly misinformed" Dynamis replied. "This girl… Her eyes are those of a hardened soldier and warrior… one who has likely killed hundreds of sapient beings."

"Thousands, actually" Teana shouted back. "And hundreds of them were human – insurrectionists, terrorists, blindly-loyal followers of a black-hearted despotic tyrant, and the like. You of _Cosmo Entelecheia_… you bear an uncomfortable resemblance, in many ways, to the Covenant, a conglomeration of non-human sapients who stated that their gods had decreed humanity a profane race, and thus sought to render humanity extinct, every last man, woman, and child, and they managed to kill nearly 90% of humanity before being stopped."

"You would dare to compare us to such genocidal barbarians?-!" Homura shouted.

"Yes!" Teana replied. "For in my eyes, what you have done and seek to do to this world's people is no different! You are, as you put it, genocidal barbarians, just as they were! Deluded by a false god into annihilating entire species! And you shall share their fate! By our hands, the people you have killed will be avenged! For all that you've done and seek to do, as Saint Olivieas my witness, _none of you will be spared_!"

Meanwhile, Setsuna and Tsukuyomi were already crossing blades. Negi went to intercept and assist, only to have to block a strike from a massive… tail? He looked, seeing Tamaki with tail enlarged & extended and claws out. He then found himself immobilized, courtesy of Koyomi's temporal-manipulation Artifact, the catgirl (healed by Tsukuyomi's Lifemaker Key) clinging to a wall rather high up, out of Negi's range. However, she was caught off-guard as Makie's infinite-extending ribbon Artifact came up and grabbed hold of the Artifact, yanking it away and freeing Negi. A blow to the stomach from Kū Fei's extending _bō_-staff kept her from leaping after it. As Fei leapt up to engage Koyomi in a close-in fight, Kaede Nagase wrapped the partially-transformed Tamaki in chains laced with exploding tags. Fei unleashed a _ki_-supercharged punch at the same time Nagase detonated the tags:

"_Bakuretsu Rasenkei_!"

"_Bakusa Bakuenjin_!"

At the same time, Tsukuyomi stood up, looking nearly unharmed after taking a _Hyakuretsu Okazan _from Setsuna. She held her blade out… and it seethed with black power. Tsukuyomi was then enveloped in a black aura; the only thing discernable of her within it was her outline and her eyes, which now glowed red.

"Tsukuyomi…" Setsuna snapped. "Why do you have the Daemonic Blade _Hina_? You would surrender your body to demonic forces for power?-!"

"For power? No. This is so I can savor you to the fullest, _senpai_! Now, allow me… to feast upon you! _Kokutō Zanganken_!"

Setsuna brought her blade up to block the overhead strike… and felt as her arm muscles nearly gave way as the rock beneath her feet shattered. Both of them took off, zipping around the large battlefield, clashing with incredible speed and devastating power. Finally, like a pitch-black comet, Tsukuyomi smashed into Setsuna, unleashing a devastating black wave of energy that sent Setsuna flying:

"_Hiken: Isshun Sengeki: Nitō Kokutō Samidaregiri_!-!" (TN: Hidden Blade: Instant Thousand-Strikes: Twin Black-Blade Summer Rain Slice)

Setsuna righted herself and came to rest 'standing' on the wall, only for Tsukuyomi to flash in and send her careening again before she could react.

"Whatever are you looking so surprised about, _senpai_? You've seen with Negi-kun how Darkness and demonic forces can boost a person's power."

Before the others could leap in to Setsuna's aid, Dynamis appeared directly amongst them. Teana flash-stepped over to Negi's side, blades drawn.

"…You haven't even formally introduced yourself yet" Kaede Fuyō said, bone-blades readied. "That's not exactly polite of you."

"My name is Dynamis" the tall cloaked man replied. He looked at the girl. "The Dead Bone Pulse… a very rare ability; I thought it was extinct except among members of the Bull-Skull Clan of _Yōma_, which you are quite obviously not one of, considering you don't have four arms and aren't 12 feet tall."

"Didn't Negi-kun flatten one of those when he and his buddies tried to kidnap Nodoka-chan?" Mai muttered.

"Irrelevant at the moment" Shion quietly replied.

"I see now, son of the hero" Dynamis said to Negi. "Unlike your father, you actually have your own proposal to solve this world's plight. Of this I approve! However… it nevertheless remains that there is no room in our plans for compromise."

"But Dynamis-san!" Negi said. "According to my calculations, we should be able to prevent the coll-"

"Silence, boy. You fail to grasp the root of this problem. And I too, as a leading member of a secret society, have my own pride to uphold. If you wish to pursue your own path…"

He formed a hand-seal, and his clothes exploded, and then rapidly formed into a second set of humongous arms coming out of his upper back.

(BIG BATTLE MUSIC: _Kingdom Hearts II _OST – "The Corrupted")

"Then speak with your fists!"

He struck, the punch sending Negi hurtling through the air and into the far wall. The shadows wrapped around his whole body, transforming him into a muscled, black-skinned, four-armed demonic being, dark power surging through him. Dynamis flash-stepped over to directly in front of Negi, winding up a devastating punch… which was blocked by Kaede Nagase.

"I will handle this, sensei!" Nagase shouted. "You must go on ahead!"

"You think it will be so easy?" Dynamis replied. "It is time you all felt my true full strength."

With that, his two smaller (i.e., normal-sized) arms formed a hand-seal, and back on the platform a horde of summoned shadow-demons sprang up from the ground. At the same time, Koyomi and Tamaki underwent startling transformations, the former into a black-furred humanoid panther, and the latter into a dragon as tall as an Mgalekgolo, while Homura was enveloped in a blazing red aura laced with flames.

"I will handle the fire-user" Teana stated. "Come on, girl! Let's see whose _Katon _is stronger!"

"Asuna-san, you and I should take the dragon" Mai said; Shiori-as-Asuna nodded in agreement.

"I'll handle the catgirl" Kaede Fuyō said, gripping her bone-blades tightly.

"I guess the rest of us will handle the demons, then" Shion said.

"But how are we supposed to keep up in a fight like this?" Yūna asked.

"With this" Ako replied as she summoned her Artifact: what looked like a blue-painted oversized pistol. "This thing shoots injection darts filled with different magical drugs. I can use it to boost you girls' stats to make the fight a little easier for you."

"…It's not gonna, like, cause horrible screaming pain, is it?" Makie asked.

"Nah" Ako replied. "I've tested it on myself. It's just a quick pinch of pain that lasts for about a second."

She then, in rapid succession, 'shot' Makie and Yūna with it, the two darts, which looked quite like tranquilizer darts, hitting them in the upper arm and the mid back, respectively, injecting their payloads. Both girls winced, and then felt as the rush of power filled their bodies.

"Now this is what I'm talkin' about!" Yūna said, drawing her Artifact gun.

Homura went for Ako, only to be intercepted by Teana, who kicked her clear across the battlefield, leaping after her and engaging her in battle. Soon, fire spells and _Katon _ninjutsu (well, and a few _Fūton _techniques from Teana) filled the air around & between them. Mai and "Asuna" charged the dragon that Tamaki had transformed into, the former going 1-Tails and the latter summoning "her" sword. Kaede F. and Koyomi became two blurs of movement, clashing with each other at great speed, the former's claws and the latter's bone-blades matching blow for blow. Everyone else in the group readied their various weapons, and as the horde of summons charged, they let loose upon them.

Dragon-Tamaki fired an explosive fire-bolt at Mai; Mai braced her feet on the ground, reared back, and let out a shockwave-roar that deflected the bolt, which soared up into the ceiling and detonated, blowing a chunk out of it. She made a punching motion, and the right arm of her Tailed-Beast Cloak shot forward at great speed toward the young dragon, the "hand" enlarging until it was as wide as Mai's torso, and hit the dragon's chest in a super-sized palm thrust, the force of the blow lifting the dragon off the ground and pushing her through the air a great distance and into a wall. Tamaki pulled herself out of the wall, and charged the Type-II _Jinchūriki_, her dragon-form's claws now wreathed in dragon's-fire. Mai's Tailed-Beast Cloak crackled with her own lightning chakra, the tail swishing back & forth. She rushed to meet her charging foe.

Even with the incredible speed of her Beast Form, Koyomi was hard-pressed to dodge or block Kaede F.'s attacks, the orange-haired girl's twin bone-swords moving fast enough to blur. Already the catgirl had several relatively-small cuts from narrowly-dodged attempts to dismember, bisect, or impale her, which was enough to let her know that the redhead fighting Homura wasn't the only one willing to kill. What's more, Fuyō wasn't limited to her bone weaponry; spears of rock, bolts of electricity, and the occasional fireball all came Koyomi's way, making the catgirl wonder just how many different techniques the human had access to. Koyomi blurred into motion, boosting her speed even further, zipping all around the girl. She came in directly behind her, lashing out with a kick.

"_Karamatsu no Mai_"

A multitude of long, thin, curved, needle-like bone spikes erupted from Kaede's back, shoulders, chest (though not through/from her breasts, sprouting out around them instead), and forearms in every direction, catching Koyomi's kick and cutting into her leg. Kaede then lurched backward, into Koyomi, and spun, the many blades slicing and slashing at the other girl. She finished with a kick that sent the stunned and wounded catgirl away. Koyomi struggled to her feet, growling. Fuyō retracted her bone-spikes and then brought her two bone-blades together; the bone shifted and merged, changing shape, and soon she was wielding a _bō _staff. She spun it, taking a combat stance, and waited. Koyomi pushed down the pain and charged again.

Dynamis' summons fell by the dozens, yet still kept coming. Marie was firing near-constantly, switching Charon between Plasma and Annihilator firing modes while occasionally firing concussion missiles. Shion's Void Blade and Ahsoka's twin lightsabers cleaved through anything that got close, while Shion also fired plasma bolts & bursts from her arm-weapon. The two Sangheili added their plasma swords and Type-51 Carbines to the mix, as did Yūna with her Artifact-gun. Chisame was relying on her Artifact's rarely-used secondary function: firing blasts of lightning magic from the tip of it. A particularly large summon came rushing at them. Zhal pulled out a plasma grenade, aimed, and threw; the explosive stuck to the creature's face and detonated, taking out that summon and a few who were near it.

Teana and 'Homura' leapt back from each other, separating from the grapple they'd been in, and at the same time they breathed out a stream of fire at each other. The flames met in the middle, and soon Teana's began to push Homura's back. The salamandra growled and focused magic into her left eye, and a burst of blue flame came out of it, pushing Teana's fire back and coming close to enveloping her. This was Homura's ultimate attack; nothing had ever survived it.

"_Amaterasu_"

And then Teana's right eye opened, and her _Mangekyō _let out a pulse of chakra. At the center of the encroaching blue flames, a burst of pitch-black fire sprang into being, rapidly growing until it consumed the blue fire, leaving the air between the two girls empty. Teana stared, her right eye currently shut.

'This girl…' Homura thought to herself, feeling genuine fear. 'She can summon Black Hellfire?-!'

Homura began to move, trying to circle around. Teana tracked her movement, and about halfway around her right eye opened again. Blood vessels stood out as she unleashed another _Amaterasu_, barely missing the younger girl. Three more were unleashed in quick succession, the pattern in her eye rotating after each shot like the barrel of a revolver. The fourth shot was held, Teana's right eye releasing a tear of blood as it guided the now-mobile burst of black flame into chasing Homura, slowly gaining on her. Suddenly, a summon carrying a Lifemaker's Key leapt between Homura and the hellfire, being engulfed by it. The black flames of _Amaterasu _quickly consumed the creature and the Key, reducing both to ashes and atoms within 10 seconds.

Teana released her _Mangekyō_, her eye returning to basic Sharingan. She wiped away the blood, and saw as her vision in that eye returned to normal, the purpose-built nanites within the organ repairing the damage that had been done by the _Mangekyō_'s usage. She was, however, down to about 60% of her chakra now. She would have to wrap this up soon.

Kaede Nagase landed behind Dynamis, having impaled one of the blades of her huge shuriken through his torso, pinning him to the ground, his two huge extra arms falling to the ground after having been severed by Nagase's kunai. A flick of the wrist, and chains with exploding tags attached wrapped around him, pinning him. Negi leapt high and charged his own attack:

"_Agite, Tenebrae Abyssi, Ensis Incendens. Et Incendium Caliginis Umbrae Inimicitiae Destructionis Ultionis! Incendant Et Me Et Eum, Sint Solum Incendentes! __**Incendium Gehennae**__!-!_"

Negi released, and a blast of dark fire enveloped Dynamis, setting off the exploding tags; the combined explosion engulfed the platform that the three were fighting on. He and Nagase landed on another platform.

"Get going, sensei!" Kaede N. said. "If he survived, I will handle him!"

After a few seconds, Negi nodded and lightning-flashed over to the girls. He summoned his staff.

"Nodoka-san, Chisame-san, climb on! Asuna-san, can you come as well?"

"Will you guys be okay without me?" 'Asuna' asked Mai and Yūna.

"We've got this" Mai replied. "I'm only at one tail of power, and I'm kicking enough ass to hold these guys off for hours."

"Shouldn't we use Miyazaki's ability to get the Grand-Master Key's location?" Chisame asked.

"He's faced Nodoka-san before" Negi replied. "He will have prepared a countermeasure. I doubt the book will work unless we defeat him first. There's no time. Besides… Fate isn't here right now! He will have the Great Grand-Master Key! I'm sure of it!"

The three girls got on the staff behind Negi, and he took off. However, straight ahead in their path, a black portal opened, and a black blade came flying out.

Negi did not dodge or go Lightning to phase through.

Everyone watched in horror as the blade punched through Negi's actual body, knocking him off the staff, and punched clean through him, bringing with it a huge burst of blood. He landed in a heap.

"You were fools to think I would die so easily" Dynamis said as he marched out of the dust, looking almost-completely unharmed. "Or that I would let you leave."

Before Konoka could take out her Artifact, however, a pillar of pitch-black energy enveloped Negi, tossing everyone back. When it emerged, he was standing unharmed… and in his Erebus Daemon form. Spikes jutted back from his elbows, his fangs were even longer than before, and the detached glowing sigils of _Magia Erebea _were twice the size of earlier displays of the transformation.

"Th…This energy…" Dynamis was, for the first time in ages, afraid.

Daemon-Negi leapt, punching at Dynamis. Dynamis used one of his huge extra arms to block the strike, and the ground beneath him shattered, the daemon pushing back and gradually overpowering him. Dynamis struck out with 500 blows in the span of a few seconds… and the daemon endured them all, completely unharmed, and struck back with one blow that sent the tall man flying. A second tail sprang out to join the daemon's first, and two extra arms sprouted. Everyone felt as Daemon-Negi's already terrifyingly-high power increased even further.

"S…Six…" Shion muttered. "Six tails' worth of power…"

The daemon lunged forward, piercing through Dynamis' attack like it were air, and then impacted, the blow literally tearing Dynamis in half at the waist. However, even as the shadow-man began to fall to the ground in two pieces, he unleashed another attack, a barrage of shadow-spears… which the daemon effortlessly plowed through, closing in and landing a steel-shattering punch to Dynamis' head, destroying his mask. As Dynamis plummeted to the ground, Daemon-Negi charged himself with black lightning, and then released a pitch-black _Titano-Ktonon_, pinning Dynamis to the ground, following up with a black-lightning _Khilipl Astrape _focused into the staff:

"_**Kokuryū Raigō!-!**_"

After the dust settled, Dynamis, bisected and unmasked, weakly stared at the humanoid abomination stalking toward him.

"I see now…" he muttered. "The blood of the final descendant of the line of Vespertatia… The magical force of your father… a sheer talent all your own… And finally, a technique descended from the works of my own great master… A mere puppet such as myself could never hope to prevail against such odds… And yet, we have won. Kill me now, and fall to the darkness!"

Suddenly, Homura, in her Fire-Sprite form, stood between the two.

"I won't let you kill Dynamis-sama!" she shouted. "You'll have to kill me first!"

The daemon that was Negi smirked, silver fangs glinting in the light.

"**Then I shall do so. Beings of the Old Shadow, become one with the primordial Darkness!**"

He struck… and, in a flash of movement, "Asuna" shed her disguise, and Luna stood between Negi and her two former teammates. There was a spray of blood, and the elf-girl collapsed. The daemon stared at its bloodied hand, horror in its glowing eyes.

"Excellent work, Shiori" Dynamis muttered. "He will now fall."

The disembodied _Erebea _sigils surrounding Negi turned black, and the daemon let out an unholy howl. Kaede N. grabbed hold of the daemon by the arm, casting her bind _jutsu _to assist in restraining him. Nodoka, Kū Fei, and Makie joined in. Chisame stood directly in front of him, shrugging off the slash he promptly left on her arm.

"Stop jumping to conclusions, idiot" she said, and then grabbed hold of his head and turned it to look at the fallen girl… who, though with a gash on her side, was very much alive.

"You shifted your claw at the last instant. She's still alive."

In a burst of energy, the Erebus Daemon form faded away, and Negi collapsed to the ground. However, his entire body – not just his skin, but _all _of him, was unnaturally pale, and his legs had turned to stone from just above the knee down.

After five minutes, the situation was distressingly clear. Negi was, for all intents and purposes, comatose. He was not responding to any attempts to heal him through magic or through medical _ninjutsu_. The clash of distant noise told of how Setsuna's separate battle still continued.

"Shiori!" Homura shouted. "Why did you save that boy? Why save the Thousand Master's son?-!"

The beast-girl and the dragon landed behind Homura, returning to their normal forms.

"Your role was to replace Kagurazaka and spy on these Terrans!" Homura shouted. "What the hell are you doing?-!"

"Listen, all of you" Luna/Shiori responded. "What was our objective? To "rewrite this world"… That's correct, right? For the past 20 years, Fate-sama and his companions have been working fervently toward this, because this world's collapse has been drawing ever closer. But… what if there were a way to prevent it?"

"We've heard that bullshit already! The boy is a deluded idiot!"

"What if it were true?" she simply repeated. "Teana-san explained it to me, and it's actually a very sound plan, though it will require the cooperation of parties who are currently enemies of each other…"

"S-So what if it were true?-! Even if the collapse could be prevented, it wouldn't change the state this world is in! It wouldn't prevent others from going through the same horrors as us!"

"…You are right, of course. But that's not the issue here. Homura… I have chosen to trust in and assist Negi-san."

"You… TRAITOR!-!"

Homura began to flare up… only to find an orange energy blade held to her throat, and a hand hovering right in front of her face.

"One more word, fallen one," Teana snarled, "and I'll rip your eyes from their sockets!"

"Enough, Homura" Dynamis said. "There is no need to fight. We have already won. It is a pity that he did not fall completely, but it matters not. The boy will no longer be of use to anyone. You have lost your only trump card. Meanwhile, the Twilight Imperial Princess and the Great Grand-Master Key to the Lifemaker's Code are protected by Tertium in the very depths of the palace. The final ceremony has already begun in just 103 minutes, our plan will be completed. I daresay that boy… is the only one among you who would have a hope in battle against the Averruncus Series."

"You underestimate what my team and I are capable of" Teana replied. "The power of the _Mangekyō Sharingan_, the power of two Tailed Beasts, the power of the Void, the power of the Force… If Negi cannot defeat Averruncus, then _we _will; we will slay him and put a stop to this world's annihilation. …But we cannot do it alone." She turned to Negi's girls. "Will you help us?"

After several seconds of contemplating the situation, the answer was a resounding yes.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

**-**_**NON-CANON OMAKE**_**-**

After the Elites had gone on ahead to scout, Ako turned to the girls (and two boys) remaining.

"Okay, everyone!" Ako said. "I need you all to line up against the wall facing it and place your hands against it; I'm gonna use my new Artifact to give you a magical stat boost that'll last three whole hours!"

Everyone nervously lined up, several looking over their shoulders at Ako. The blue-haired girl grinned and pulled out her card. In a flash, she was holding what looked like a giant syringe-needle.

"Y-You're gonna give us a shot with that?-!" Makie shouted.

"No, silly! It's not a shot!"

They looked closely. At the tip, instead of a needle, was what looked more like a nozzle. Chains of magical binding came across everyone's hands & ankles, holding them in place.

"Oh frakking no…" Yūna muttered.

Ako walked up behind Chisame, grabbed hold of her underwear beneath her skirt, and pulled them down. A few seconds later, as they heard the glasses girl let out a squeal, they wondered just how in the name of magic this had happened.

**-**_**END**_**-**


	20. Crisis

Insert comment here. Be sure to check out and add to / update the trope page.

Mass Effect 3 will be here soon; expect a resulting delay before the next chapter.

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

63 minutes remained.

The teams had been decided. Kū Fei, Ako, Konoka, Chisame, Erohn Kilkar, Kaede Fuyō, and Shion would stay with the disabled Negi, guarding him and making sure the defeated _Entelecheia _members didn't try anything. Marie and Mai headed back to the ships to guard them, while everyone else would link up with the Infiltration Group and use Natsumi's Artifact to sneak up to the ritual platform and free Asuna and the Great Grand-Master Key.

Now, the Infiltration Group stood on the edge of the Ritual Platform, concealed by Natsumi's artifact. Kaede Nagase, with the others inside her Artifact, appeared. In a blur of movement, she took hold of Kazumi's hand, enveloping herself in Natsumi's artifact's effect. With the other hand, she caught the hand of Makie as she dropped out of the time-space cloak, and the girls spilled out one by one, a chain of held hands, all now concealed.

"We're at the finale now" Kotarō said. "With Negi down, we'll just have to do something by ourselves. We've come this far; you all had better brace yourselves."

"If worse comes to worst," Teana said, "I'm ready to take him on. I should be powerful enough to either overcome or at least stalemate him, and with Ahsoka and Nagase as backup…"

"We've got no need to rush" Kaede N. said. "We still have an hour left."

"We'll walk slowly," Kotarō continued, "and get as close as we can. Once we've reached the limits of Natsumi-chan's stealth, we'll begin. And… It seems they're presently forbidden from killing us, but… be careful, all the same."

Fate Averruncus suddenly came down, landing several feet in front of them. Everyone tightened their grips, hoping Natsumi's artifact would do its part. The silver-haired boy walked right up to the cloaked Natsumi… and the ground began to heave. The group, hands all still clasped, jumped away, just as the walkway fell apart into several humongous, clean-cut chunks. Natsumi opened her eyes to see Fate standing in front of her again, now looking away but with several conjured black steel blades floating around him. As he turned to walk away, Natsumi began to faint, her hat falling free. Ahsoka caught it with the Force, keeping the group's presence hidden, and Fate leapt away.

"It seems he detected my presence for the split-second between my discarding the concealment tag and grasping Asakura-san's hand" Kaede mused.

"Are you alright, Natsumi-chan?" Kotarō knelt down by the redhead, who was on her knees. "You did good – _really _good. I'm impressed! Can you stand?"

"N-No… I can't… f-feel my legs… I'm… I'm sorry, everyone… I j-just… can't…"

'Now I remember one of the reasons Emile hated working with civilians…' Teana thought to herself.

"It's okay, Natsumi" Kotarō said. "We'll think of something else. You've done more than enough."

"…It's a bit far," Kaede N. said, "but we'll attack from here, I suppose. Makie-san, can you reach the Key from here?"

"Um, well…"

"Wait!"

Everyone looked back to Natsumi.

"It's… not 'all right' at all, is it? If I don't do my best here… It j-just won't work out, will it?"

"…Well, to be honest, our chances won't be as good… But I won't ask that much from you."

"…I understand. I'll do it." She got back to her feet. "I'll finally… have the leading role I've always wanted! L-Let's do this!"

Soon, they were advancing down the narrow walkway, past summoned shadow-demons and nearing Fate. They got past him without incident, and Yue signaled that they'd reached as far as they could go.

"Status report" Fate asked Shirabe.

"We're within the final 30 minutes, milord. Everything is going smoothly."

"Has there been any contact from down below?"

"None"

"I see… It would be… rather boring if it ended like this…"

"Fate-sama! There's an enormous amount of energy converging! It's not magic! It's coming from orbit, directly above!"

Fate looked up, seeing a bright light directly overhead. He pointed his hand up, casting a shield spell that stopped the strike cold… and Kotarō appeared out of nowhere directly in front of him, landing a strike; at the same time, a spell-shot from Yūna came at Shirabe, while Makie's ribbon lashed outward, while Kaede moved as well. In less than two seconds' time, Fate was sent flying, Shirabe was knocked out, Kaede reached & freed Asuna, and Makie's ribbon shot around the altar and grabbed hold of The Key.

Fate conjured a field of black metal darts, only to be sent flying by an "overcharged" Force Push from Ahsoka, Kotarō – now in his Demon-Wolf Form – diving after him. His darts flew, only for Teana, Yue, and Beatrix to conjure several shield-spells, blocking them all. Several darts changed course like guided missiles, going around the shields, only for Teana and Ahsoka to use their energy-blades to cut them out of the air while Yūna shot several more away, and then for the young Jedi to unleash a Force Repulse that knocked the rest away. Kaede returned to the group, the unconscious Asuna in her arms, while The Key came to Makie's hands and was then passed to Nodoka. Kotarō came flying out courtesy of Fate, who stood back up, livid. Teana formed a sequence of hand-seals, rearing back and breathing in, and then released her newest technique:

"_Katon: Gōenkyū no Jutsu_!"

The humongous sphere of fire – easily three times as big as a _Gōkakyū_, perhaps more– shot toward Fate like it was fired from a huge cannon. Upon impact with Fate's hastily-conjured shield, it exploded with incredible force; the shield shattered, and Fate, burnt and singed, was sent tumbling backward quite a ways… just in time for another strike from Chachamaru's orbital satellite to engulf him completely, as Nodoka used The Key to teleport everyone out milliseconds before the blast hit. The blast punched clean through the altar section, continuing down to the ground far below, where it went off in a titanic explosion. The group reappeared a considerably distance away, near the top of the floating palace's main section.

"Is it over?" Kazumi asked.

"Somehow I doubt he can be taken out that easily" Yue replied.

"We're too close to the altar!" Kazumi said to Nodoka. "This is a very bad place to be right now!"

"I couldn't transfer us to where Negi-sensei is" the girl replied. "Maybe it's because we're too close to the altar, or because we brought Asuna-san. I'll prepare the next transfer right away."

Back at the _Paru-sama_, the group began heading inside after having watched as Chachamaru called down the thunder upon Fate Averruncus. Suddenly, everyone turned around in shock as Mai lashed out behind herself with a Tailed-Beast Cloak claw, catching the blow of…

"No way…" Misora muttered, terrified.

"Who and what are you?" Marie growled.

The boy gave a maniacal grin. "I am Averruncus Quartum, of Fire."

Elsewhere, as Nodoka prepared the transfer, Teana suddenly shoved her out of the way, conjuring a multi-layer shield spell that barely withstood a bolt of lightning from on high. The Great Grand-Master Key flew out of Nodoka's grasp and to the hands of a waiting figure, wearing clothes identical to Fate's and with spiked-up hair.

"I am Averruncus Quintum, of Wind & Lightning" he introduced himself.

Back at the site of the earlier battle, Dynamis finished his tale.

"That is why it is our duty to carry out his plan" the bisected man said to the girls, bringing his explanations to a close. "By the way… That was a fairly good strategy your group came up with. Especially with that girl's artifact. It might even take Tertium by surprise. …Assuming that Tertium is the only card we have left to play, that is."

"What are you talking about?" Shion spoke in a low, even tone.

"The puppet that was defeated by the Thousand Master… I am the one who revived it."

Footsteps behind them caused them all to turn… and jaws to drop.

"With the power of The Key, it seems that the remaining three units have activated. Safeguards truly are things to be invested in."

The girl, with upper-back-length silver hair and a boy's uniform, stared the group down.

"I am Averruncus Sextum, of Water" she stated. She flashed over to Dynamis, laying her hand upon him. Before their eyes, his body returned to existence, his missing lower half regenerating. He then stepped back, allowing his creation the space she would need to fight.

Shion and Kaede F. calmly took a few steps forward, saying nothing. Kaede readied a bone-blade in her right hand, while two long, thin bone-spikes came out from her left elbow and left palm. Shion flared with power, a semi-solid green cloak of chakra surrounding her, two tails waving about behind her. Through the Tailed-Beast Cloak on her right arm, a brighter-green blade of energy sprang to life from her armguard.

At the ship, Mai's own Tailed-Beast Cloak flared up to three tails, while Marie readied Charon.

"I've been ordered not to kill any Terrans," Quartum said, "but since you two are extra-dimensional I suppose I can make exceptions."

Up on the main "spire", Teana stood facing Quintum.

"You call yourself the wielder of lightning and wind?" she asked him.

"That is correct" he said in a flat tone.

Teana smirked. "You picked the wrong set of opponents. Ahsoka?"

The Togrutan stood next to her squad leader. Both of them activated their paired energy blades.

(BOSS MUSIC – _Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep _OST – "Enter the Darkness")

After several seconds of stillness, Quintum fired a barrage of wind bullets… and each & every one of them was cancelled by a Crossfire Shot bolt courtesy of Teana, who'd managed to summon a midair bolt for each projectile and nail each one thanks to the crimson eyes that now glared at the artificial being standing before her. Quintum then formed a blade of lightning magic over his right arm to block a lightsaber strike from Ahsoka, feeling as the construct began to lose cohesion under the other girl's pressing assault. He leapt back several meters, and then unleashed a directed whirlwind at the two. Teana released a _Gōkakyū_, which overpowered the Wind technique and flew, strengthened, at Quintum, who narrowly dodged. A _Shinkū Taigkyoku _from Teana almost took his head off, and then a Lightning Hound from Ahsoka began pursuing him. It was now that Quintum realized that, faced against another Lightning user _and _a Fire & Wind user, he had his work cut out for him.

The fusillade of ice-darts from Sextum flash-vaporized upon contact with Shion's Tailed Beast Cloak, leaving her unharmed; likewise, Kaede's bone-bullets could not break through Sextum's forearm-mounted shield of super-hardened ice. Sextum unleashed a focused torrent of water at Kaede, who responded by summoning a wall of chakra-laced stone up from the floor, blocking the attack. Shion flash-stepped behind the water mage, who spun around and raised her shield to block the ensuing strike from the green-haired girl's Void Blade. The blade of superheated psionic energy quickly began to melt through the ice-shield, and Sextum formed a whip of ultra-hardened/dense water and lashed out at Shion. It was countered by a strike from one of the Host's two chakra tails, which wrapped around the end of the whip and squeezed, reducing it to a harmless splash of water that fell to the ground. Sextum pulled back, and then immediately had to form an ice blade to parry a thrust from Kaede's bone-blade, the two super-hardened weapons clashing like steel against steel, as the two flew into a fast-paced duel.

Outside, the _Paru-sama _was constantly in motion, the barely-repaired craft zipping about while a pitched three-person aerial battle took place all around it. Marie flitted about, her flight magic in near-overdrive as she fired Charon as much as she safely could, occasionally throwing _ninjutsu _at Quartum as well. Mai, who couldn't really fly, was instead leaping off of and amongst the plentiful floating boulders in the area, as well as shaping the outer two tails of her Tailed-Beast Cloak into "wings" with which to glide around. A magic cartridge was ejected from Charon as Marie fired an Ice Spreader shot; the condensed burst of Ice-type magic shot through the sky, homing in on Quartum's energy signature. Quartum conjured a shield of fire; the icy projectile impacted, exploding and covering the shield with ultra-low-temperatures and ice. The two techniques consumed each other, fire and ice fading away. Quartum then barely dodged as a huge, burning claw of semi-solid chakra came at him from Mai, who clung to a floating boulder a few dozen meters away. Quartum then focused his energy, calling force a huge spear/sword of solid fire:

"_Gladius Divinus Flammae Ardentis_!"

He dashed forward and swung, slicing the rock in two, but Mai pushed off of it, soaring through the air straight towards him. As he swung his weapon at her, she extended her "wings", adjusting course and narrowly dodging the attack, her Tailed-Beast Cloak protecting her from the ambient heat. As she went past him, she threw four kunai with exploding tags, only for all of them to detonate harmlessly against his automatic/passive defensive barrier. However, Marie then switched Charon to its arm-mounted energy blade mode, and then three cartridges were ejected. The blade grew to a size matching Quartum's fire-blade. They both swung at each other, the two giant blades locking.

Quintum was the closest he could come to feeling impressed. The bloodline-bearing human and the alien couldn't most as fast as he, but their connection to The Force allowed them to anticipate and react to his attacks (he felt himself slightly fortunate that the human's Force sensitivity extended only to such short-term "combat" precognition and that she was unable to use it telekinetically or to generate lightning; the alien's much stronger and more versatile connection to the Force was proving troublesome). What was more, the redhead's two elemental affinities were the ones that had advantage over his own two, and she was certainly powerful enough to use that advantage to its fullest extent thanks to her impressive magical reserves and _tremendous _chakra reserves (presently around 55% of maximum). He bent over backwards to avoid Ahsoka's saber-throw, and she in turn managed to dodge his _Fulguratio Albicans_. He fired another barrage of wind bullets, only for a _Katon: Hōsenka _from Teana to cancel them out and keep going right toward him, forcing him to flash-step away. He reappeared behind Ahsoka… and a launched stone impacted him, sending him tumbling, skidding to a stop several feet away.

"They are _my _prey…" Fate Averruncus said in a low, dangerous tone as he walked out of the dust cloud, visibly quite injured but still ready to fight. "I will not allow some just-born upstart to steal my place in the spotlight. This is _my _plan, and it shall be done _my _way – not theirs, not Dynamis', and certainly not yours!"

Inside the castle, Shion let loose with a _Rasengan_, shattering the 12-foot-tall ice golem Sextum had created. Kaede, in _Yanagi no Mai _form, was doing her best to cut Sextum to ribbons, and had already landed a few blows. Sextum called up a hardened-water barrier, which Kaede's lightning-charged bone spike punched clean through, dealing a surface wound to the artificial human's stomach. Sextum flash-stepped backwards, and barely avoided being decapitated by Shion's Void Blade, kicking the buxom girl in the stomach and using the brief instant that afforded her to flash over to the noncombatants who were standing watch over the comatose Negi, pointing a series of ice daggers at them. Shion and Kaede didn't dare move forward… but they didn't have to.

In a blur of movement, Negi stood up and placed a palm to Sextum's chest. Her barrier shattered, and so did the stone shell that Negi himself had been in. She leapt back, her clothes in tatters… and the little figure that was the Grave-Keeper stuck her hand into Sextum's back, holding her Core in her hand. If Sextum so much as twitched wrong, the GK would crush it, destroying her instantly.

"Why have you betrayed us, Master?" Dynamis shouted.

The Grave-Keeper chuckled. "To betray someone, you have to be on their side to begin with. I was never on _anyone's _side. I wish to see what the boy has in mind for this world." She turned to Negi. "Go, my descendant."

Negi nodded in gratitude and, taking his _Raiten Sōsō _form, blitzed out. Seconds later, there were two blurs of movement. Sextum had broken free of the Grave-Keeper during the split second she was distracted, rushing at the noncombatants… and had been impaled through the chest and Core by Shion, who'd Void-Jumped into her path. The artificial human's shocked eyes quickly lost their light, and Shion withdrew her blade, allowing the body to collapse to the floor.

Outside, Quartum's patience was rapidly running out. These two Terrans had fought him every step of the way, working together to match him blow for blow. As he flew out of the way of a two-cartridge beam of magic from Marie, he took a bolt of lightning chakra from Mai, his muscles briefly seizing before he forced the harmful energy out. Deciding enough was enough, he focused his power, and called forth his strongest summon: _Entei Shōkan_. The huge fire-demon towered over him, and unleashed four large fire-spears that flew at the group. Mai and Marie barely dodged theirs, but the other two neared the _Paru-sama_… until a blur of white lightning shot by, knocking them both away and then coming around to slam into the summon's head. Everyone stared in awe as Negi made himself known. The fire-demon composed itself and lunged forward with a punch that created an explosion on impact, only to discover that Negi had effortlessly caught and shrugged off the hit. He then raised his free hand, forming a large spear of lightning with a drill tip:

"_Bōfū no Rasensō_!"

Negi let fly the weapon, which punched straight through the demon, detonating as it was halfway through and annihilating it. What followed next was short and brutal. Negi flashed in, effortlessly shrugging off Quartum's strongest blows, while his own return strikes sent the fire-mage reeling. This culminated in Negi grabbing hold of Quartum's midsection and unleashing a point-blank burst of "bladed lightning" that tore Quartum in half. The bisected being began to plummet to the depths far below, soon fading from sight. Marie and Mai 'landed' on the deck of the _Paru-sama_, and after he checked up on them Negi set out for the last battleground.

Despite her desire to kill him for all he had done and planned to do, Teana was quick to accept Fate's offer of a temporary alliance against a common foe, as was Ahsoka, who was sort of used to people switching sides at the drop of a hat thanks to her experiences in the Clone Wars. It turned out that Fate wasn't fast enough to dodge Quintum's blows… but he didn't need to be, because he was so absurdly tough that he was able to shrug them off. A fusillade of summoned swords from Fate forced Quintum to take evasive action… straight into the path of a _Fūton: Shinkūha _from Teana that nearly severed his arm. He leapt back, forming a large spear of lightning – _Gungnir _– and threw it at Fate… who _caught it_, and then threw it right back. Quintum barely avoided being skewered, and the thrown lightsaber from Ahsoka was not dodged, cutting deep into his side. He landed, a hand over the glowing-hot slash carved into his midsection, and Fate leapt in, unleashing devastatingly powerful physical blows; blocking one caused Quintum's right arm to snap, and a kick sent him tumbling at considerable speed.

"Why would you betray us?" Quintum hissed.

"I still plan to fulfill the Lifemaker's plan" Fate replied. "However, I refuse to go about it the way you and your master Dynamis plan to. I'm following my own path."

Before Quintum could react, four telekinetically-directed blades of energy stabbed through his chest from various angles. He tried to gasp for air, failed, and keeled over dead. Ahsoka recalled her lightsabers and Teana's Device, tossing the latter to the redhead. Both girls then took combat positions facing Fate.

It was then that a lightning-bolt struck the ground between the three, resolving into Negi. He looked at Fate, who smirked in satisfaction that he'd finally get to fight once more the boy who'd tried to ruin everything. Negi walked forward and got in Fate's face, returning to his Base Form as he did. Their auras clashed and swirled around them.

"I want this to be decided by words rather than combat" Negi stated.

"I do not believe you really mean that" Fate replied.

In a blur of motion, Fate lashed out at Negi's face. When the resulting dust cleared, the boy was completely unharmed. Negi returned fire, a punch to Fate's midsection that sent the other skidding backward.

"…Didn't I say, back in Kyoto," Fate said, "that it would be impossible for you then? …You've come very far, indeed."

"As I recall," Negi said, "back in New Ostia you said I was a child who knew nothing. I've come with an answer in hand – my own answer, as someone who knows _everything _about what's going on."

"I refuse to accept your answer."

"…Then I'll let my fists to the speaking for me."

After several seconds of still silence, they dashed toward each other, and the carnage commenced.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	21. Clash

Sorry about the wait; distractions, a term paper, and writer's block

…Don't worry, folks. I _**WILL NOT **_be using the manga's canon "ending". I have an appropriately epic battle planned, along with a harbinger of battles yet to come…

…Man, Bioware's planning to address the complaints regarding _their _series' ending; why can't Akamatsu do the same?

This last section originally said "Be sure to check out (and, if you wish, edit / add to) the trope page (and accompanying Characters page) for this fic." However, TV-Tropes has recently become fuck; they've deleted a humongous load of various Works pages – including Marie's and Mai's source material – and then red-linked and permanently edit-locked each & every one of them. My new decree:

BOYCOTT THE SITE

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

As the explosions and blasts of magic signified the true beginning of Fate & Negi's battle, Teana had Cross Mirage run a diagnostic on her body. She had a few minor wounds, and her chakra reserves were at around 55%; any less than 30%, and she'd suffer from officially-recognized chakra exhaustion, 15% and she'd encounter the beginning of organ breakdown (she remembered the recording of cousin Itachi's final fight against his little brother, where toward the end he'd started coughing up blood), less than 8% would result in a "brief" coma once the rush and adrenaline of battle faded, and absolute zero would, of course, kill her. Her magical "reserves" were a little higher proportionately, but not by much. She had enough for one last big fight, and then she'd be pretty much done for a few days. Looking up at the overhead battle, she smirked as she felt that odd desire for a challenging fight that popped up now & again, yet felt as much a part of her as her eyes' bloodline. She gripped Mirage Longsword tightly and took off, flying upward toward the fight, ready to lend Negi a hand (not that he needed it, from the looks of things)…

…and nearly crashed into a black-rune shield-spell that suddenly appeared in midair directly in her path. She ground to a halt, narrowly avoiding being pancaked against the solidified magic structure. She heard as, to her left, a familiar being appeared, floating in air level with her.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, young warrior" Dynamis said. "So long as I draw breath, I will not allow anything that further tips the balance against Tertium. If you wish to join that battle, you will have to win _this _one first."

"…Okay" she said, and then slipped into a fighting stance.

Dynamis smirked. "Very well. Though, as you no doubt have realized, just as the traitor Grave-Keeper did…"

From his cloak, a mass of pitch-black tentacles tipped by paper-sharp blades or piercing spikes came forth, each of them ready to shed blood and rend flesh. His aura of magical power flared.

"You shall not find me easy prey!"

(BATTLE MUSIC – _Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep_: "Black Powder" (a.k.a. "Battle of Great Valor"))

Dynamis made the opening mode, his spear-tipped tendrils racing through the air toward Teana. She flew to the side, and they gave chase. Eventually they reached the limit of their (considerable) range and retracted. Teana took the chance to fire two _Gōkakyū _in sequence at Dynamis, who brought up a shield spell to block them; he had to visibly exert himself a bit at the second fireball's impact. He raised his hand with palm upward, and in response dozens of flying shadow-demons came into being, all of them charging at Teana, who brought Mirage Longsword's energy blade to bear and rushed in.

There was a flash of white light as Negi entered his _Raiten Sōsō _form. There was then another, longer-sustained bright light in the form of 1,001 simultaneous _Sagitta Magica _projectiles all coming into being and streaking towards Fate. Fate flew into motion as quickly as he could, smacking a few away and dodging the rest. He barely managed to make it through, having taken several glancing blows, as the projectiles continued forward into a 50-meter-tall floating boulder, obliterating it. He then began his counterattack, calling a swarm of black swords into existence, floating around him:

"_Mille Gladii Obsidianii_" ("Thousand Black Swords" "_Senjin Kokuyōken_")

With a wave of his hand, they all flew at Negi, coming at different angles. He then watched in surprise as, over the course of several seconds, Negi literally _punched _the swords out of the air one at a time with truly incredible speed and reflexes. By the time Negi had finished, Fate had summoned a swarm of rock spikes… and before he could even fire them, Negi flash-stepped in and punched him in the face. Fate countered with his own strike, and they flew into a furious, fast-paced close-range fight.

Teana burst her way out through the other side of the swarm of flyers, which was now significantly diminished, many bisected, de-winged, or decapitated shadow-demons plummeting to the ground far below in her wake. She fired a _Katon: Hōsenka _at Dynamis; most of the fire-swathed shuriken were swatted out of the air by his combat tentacles, but a few made it through, burning and cutting into his armored robes, one of them making it through those as well to leave a mark on his chest. He called forth a summon almost as large as himself and sent it at Teana, only for her to flatten it with a _Rasengan _and keep coming at him. Dynamis flew to the side, firing a barrage of Shadow-type _Sagitta Magica _as he went; Teana dodged some and Crossfire-Shot the others by using her _Sharingan _to predict their paths, and then flew after him in a chase, and soon the two were in a high-speed aerial battle, firing attacks at each other while flitting about.

Negi & Fate were now voluntarily grounded as they continued their brawl. Fate reached out, grasping the "hilt" of Negi's _Ensis Exsequens _and then destroying the sword. In response, Negi lashed out and shattered Fate's stone-steel blade. As they fought, their conversation continued.

"In that case," Fate said, "you'll have to kill me to stop the ritual."

"I won't do such a thing" Negi replied. "I-"

Fate's interruption was a hard left cross.

"You're far too naïve, Negi-kun. Do you plan on shouldering the world with that naiveté?"

A kick sent Negi hurtling away… only to rebound with a crushing headbutt.

"Yes, I do."

The following clash of punches shattered the ground beneath them, leaving them to take to the air once more. Negi's following two blows sent Fate reeling, only for the still-stunned artificial mage to lash out with his own kick, followed by a punch that was then blocked.

"Wonderful, Negi-kun. Your strikes are as powerful as Rakan's now."

"Not even Rakan-san could keep up with my attacks on this form" Negi replied. "I'm astonished that you _can_."

After a few seconds, Fate couldn't help but break into laughter as he caused the ground beneath Negi to explode upward. Negi recovered, and their fists clashed with each other again.

"It looks like you're having fun here, Negi-kun!" Fate said. "I saw that smile! …I finally understand now. This… is what it means to _have fun_!"

Again, their attacks met, dealing devastating blows to each other.

"Rakan told me that I needed to learn to enjoy myself now & then, didn't he? …You're stronger than I am now; how could you not, thanks to those dark powers you now possess? The power you wield is doubtlessly the same as that of my lord. However… do you understand how great its cost will be?"

"Yeah, I understand" Negi replied. "I'm prepared for it. …No matter what this power is, I will use it to stop you… _without _killing you."

Suddenly, their attention was drawn to a pillar of light shooting upward from the main floating palace. It connected with what looked to be a gigantic projection that filled the sky… a worryingly familiar one.

"That's…" Negi muttered, eyes wide in shock. "Mahora Academy…"

"What the hell is going on?" Teana said, she and Dynamis briefly halting their battle as they stared up.

Dynamis smirked. "It is beginning" he said. "The global rewrite, and the collapse, have begun."

All across Mundus Magicus, humongous rifts began to open in the sky, and massive tornado-like dimensional dislocations sprang up in several locations. As anything and anyone too close to them was torn asunder and ceased to exist, the people began to panic in terror, mobs running about in attempts to escape the sudden death of their world.

Unseen by anyone, in one of the larger cities, standing above the crowd of thousands running about and screaming in terror, an unnaturally tall, faceless humanoid figure literally fed upon the fear and terror radiating out from the masses; it spread its long, thin arms wide as it basked in the influx of emotions it was consuming, gorging itself on them as much as it could before it had to leave back to Earth.

'_**Suc**_

_**h a fe**_

_**ast!-!**_'

The fights did not pause for long. Teana sent a barrage of wind bullets (_Fūton: Shinkūgyoku_) at Dynamis, who blocked them with a shield spell (barely) and responded with a storm of shadow bullets that Teana narrowly twisted and dodged around, readying Mirage Longsword and flying in close. He flash-stepped backward, flying away at great speed while still facing her, and as he moved he began charging power, black-and-violet magic coming to him. Teana took a stance and began gathering her own mana, a red-orange Midchildan magic circle floating beneath her feet. Mirage switched to Gun Mode, and she held it pointing toward Dynamis, red-orange energy charging directly in front of it. After several more seconds, they fired their attacks at each other:

"Shadowed Catastrophe!"

"Forsaken Buster!"

The two energy waves – one purple with a black outline, the other red with an orange outline – shot toward each other, eventually meeting in the middle and beginning a fierce "reverse tug-of-war" against each other. Both combatants strained as they poured their power into their techniques.

Meanwhile, the clash between Negi and Fate had become more ferocious than ever, blinding speed and terrible strength being unleashed. However, to keen observers something was becoming apparent: gradually, Negi was winning. A darkness-supercharged punch sent Fate rocketing across the battlefield, crashing amongst a field of shattered rock.

"The end is in sight now…" Fate muttered as he struggled to pull himself up. "We settle this with the next blow, shall we?"

As Negi touched down nearby, Fate channeled mana into his right hand, which was enveloped in its pale glow.

"Just… Before that, Negi-kun… Can I hear this 'alternate plan' you and the redheaded offworlder have come up with?"

"…What's this all of a sudden?" Negi grinned as his own right fist glowed with power. "I thought you'd said you weren't going to hear me out on this."

"…True enough. There's no point in hearing it. Forget I said anything."

In a flash of lightning, Negi stood directly in front of Fate.

"No. I want you to hear it. Listen to me."

"No, there's no need to" Fate said with a small grin. "The conclusion has already been decided."

"…Because you're a 'doll', created by this world's lord?"

"Yes."

"And is it the same for everyone else who lives in this world? You people plan to seal this world because its inhabitants don't fit your definition of 'real'?"

"That is the only salvation for this meaningless world, and our duty as its creators."

"Then why did you save your _Ministrae_? …I'd always thought that you were just an enemy to defeat one day – just a goal. I hated you, and my anger toward you became my power. But… The Fate who appeared in the words Shiori-san told me… I do not hate. I want to talk with you."

"…What…"

"I extend a hand of friendship to you."

"…Are you that stupid?"

"Are _you _saying that even Rakan-san was a meaningless doll? …Does it even matter the circumstances of their creation or of ours? What about his last words-"

"_Enough_. This is useless talk. Let's hurry and finish this battle."

"Except _you _were the one who started the conversation."

"…All right, then. I give you my thanks. This has been a most enjoyable battle."

With that, Fate reached out and grasped Negi's outstretched hand… and then tightened his grip as his power surged.

"You won't escape this one, Negi-kun" Fate said with a smirk.

Negi quickly gathered himself and began charging his own attack. The ground beneath them surged and fractured as their accumulated power soared. Finally, their free hands surged forward, as did their ultimate moves:

"_Terra Findens!-!_"

"_Khilipl Astrape!-!_"

There was an absolutely humongous explosion of blinding white lightning and glowing-hot magma, a brilliant flash and tremendous shockwave that rocked the entire palace and was visible to the Earth-borne humans at Mahora Academy above/below. At the core, the two attacks shoved against each other, both combatants trying to overcome the other in a shoving match. Negi's eyes widened as, in an instant, Fate's memories – Shiori/Luna and her elder sister, warm coffee, tactile telepathy, Secundum's cruelty, Fate's choice to slay his psychotic "brother" – flashed through his mind.

With one final shove, the attacks both exploded outward, an awe-inspiring shockwave and flash of biblical proportions. The shockwave set off the clashing energies of Dynamis' and Teana's attacks, causing another explosion as the two techniques detonated against each other. Dynamis shielded his face as the blast wave and flash of light from his and the redhead's techniques hit him, along with the one from Negi & Fate's clash. However, 30 seconds later, when the larger blast died down and he opened his eyes, the girl was nowhere in sight. He looked around, trying to locate her… and that's when he heard it. Approaching behind him was a whirling sound, with the faint hint of a bell-like screech accompanying it. Drained of most of his energy, he turned around as quickly as he could, just in time to see Teana flying at him, launched at him by a pair of Shadow Clones, her right hand holding a blue-white swirling energy sphere with four curved points spinning along its equator. He couldn't get out of the way in time.

"_Fūton: Rasengan!-!_"

The attack struck home at the center of Dynamis' chest, immediately beginning to grind and slice into him. With a shout, Teana pressed in harder, and in response the attack detonated forward, a barrage of concussive force and piercing & slicing wind chakra ravaging the tall, cloaked man; a "coating" of protective magic over Teana's arm protected it from recoil damage. In an arc, Dynamis' now-limp form, bones shattered and torso torn open, plummeted to the ground far below. After catching her breath, Teana began flying toward the site of the recent blast, though she was certain that she was outclassed by both Negi and Fate.

When the light faded, most of the rock beneath the floating castle had been melted, fields of glowing lava interspersed with "islands" of surviving rock. Standing on one such island, Fate's eyes snapped open after being pummeled out of a Negi-created vision of Nagi and Rakan beating the crap out of him. Negi was still before him, hand still clasped onto Fate's wrist, but now in his normal form.

"That woman with the coffee…" Negi said. "I know that's not all there is to it. …That was my intention. But… Even so, Fate… Once we have surpassed this crisis… lend me your strength. And I'll lend you mine. When the time comes, we won't need the power of a god. We'll do it all with our _own _strength. …This will be the genuine final blow. And if you lose, you have to listen to me and do what I say."

"…You're one to talk" Fate replied. "Borrowing power from your father, your master, and even from the imprisoned princess who you are supposed to save… Is that what you call a final bout?"

"If you become my comrade, then… Even if it's awkward and childish…"

"…You're such a child…"

"And you aren't?"

Fate smirked, and moved his hand down to shake hands with Negi.

"I concede, Negi-kun" Fate said. "It is your victory."

Fate then fell to one knee, his exhaustion catching up. Negi reached out a hand, only for it to be slapped away.

"Don't misunderstand me" Fate said. "I surrender to you because if this so-called plan is successful, then you will certainly be the one who's right. But that is as far as you'll be in the right. We will _always _be in conflict with each other. We are _not _friends. And if you make even the slightest of mistakes, I will reactivate _Kosmo Entelekheia _immediately. That is an absolute condition."

"I understand and accept that."

"…Shirabe-san! Lift the bounded field and release the Twilight Princess from the ritual!"

"W-What?-!" the wounded dryad shouted out from below; behind her, a vine-held Asuna was suspended in the middle of the ritual sphere; the rest of Ala Alba and Gamma Team, looking slightly worse for wear, had suspended their efforts to free Asuna in order to listen in.

"I'll explain later! Invert the ritual _now_! It'll soon reach the point of no return!"

At Negi's astonished look, Fate continued.

"First, we'll stop the collapse with your plan… That's all I'll be lending you my strength for."

"Right" Negi replied. "Your abilities are a necessary part of this plan. But… the plan will take quite some time to implement. You'd better be ready to work with me for at least a decade. …C'mon, let me help you up. If you don't get healed up, we might lose you. And that would be quite the blow to our plan."

"It seems your plan is more flexible than I expected" Fate said.

"It has to be" Teana said as she set down next to them. "It's _two _plans merged into one. …Granted, if it were up to me, you'd be a corpse, not an ally, due to all the things you've done… But the survival of over two billion people is more important than ensuring the death of _one _villain."

"Are you alright?" Negi asked her.

"I have about 40% of my energy reserves left" Teana replied. "Getting into that energy beam tug-of-war with Dynamis, and then shredding him with my new attack, took a chunk out of my energy. I don't have much more to spare before my body starts taking damage from the strain."

"So…" Fate said. "What exactly is this plan you two have come up with?"

"Terraform Mars" Negi replied bluntly.

"…What?"

"Mundus Magicus is dying because it's running out of mana to support it. Magical background energy tends to accumulate where there's life. Mars, which Mundus Magicus is dimensionally anchored to, is a dead world. So if we make Mars into a living world again, the influx of planetary-scale mana will revitalize and sustain Mundus Magicus. My _original _plan required Asuna-san to sacrifice a great deal; her power would be required to hold this world up, so to speak, until the terraforming had sufficiently progressed. However, Teana-san introduced a new factor that eliminates the need for Asuna-san to sacrifice _anything_."

"During my travels," Teana explained, "I was there for the discovery of one of the greatest marvels humanity has ever encountered: Installation Ark-00, an absolutely titanic megastructure created by a long-extinct race who wielded powerful magic and highly advanced technology with equal impunity. The Ark is 10 times as big across as Earth, and it has a massive artificially-created ecosystem sustained by an obscene amount of magical and technological power. We're gonna find a way to somehow temporarily link Mundus Magicus to the Ark's magical power supply; that'll hold this world up until the terraforming takes hold. The Ark could sustain this world for up to 5,000 years if need be… and the terraforming will sustain it for as long as Mars retains enough complex life, which could be hundreds of millions of years if we're lucky."

"My projections indicate Mars will be sufficiently terraformed to sustain Mundus Magicus without the Ark's help in… about 60-90 years" Negi said.

"An ambitious plan" Fate said. "It sounds completely crazy. …But, as you have proven, sometimes 'crazy' works."

Fate pulled himself back up to his feet, and he & Negi shook hands to formalize their agreement. Suddenly, however, they felt as Teana reached out and yanked them both downward, allowing a thin black beam that had been aimed for their hearts to shoot over their heads. Meanwhile, up on the tower, another identical beam punched clean through Takane's summoned defense and killed Shirabe instantly, before she could free Asuna.

Down below, the two boys got to their feet. Teana's blades had been drawn, and her now-crimson eyes were focused on where they'd come from, wide in fear at who she saw. The boys followed her gaze, and their blood ran cold.

"Im… Impossible…" Negi breathed out.

Hovering over the field of lava, as if he were a demon emerging from Hell to wreak devastation upon a living world that had forgotten his horrible power, the Lifemaker slowly floated toward them.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

I _would've _added the following fights in, but I figured you guys have waited long enough, so I chose "shorter chapter but sooner update" over "longer chapter but longer update waiting time".


	22. Dramatic & Fitting Chapter Title

This'll be pretty much the last chapter that closely follows manga canon. After this we're more original.

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"It can't be…" Negi whispered in horror. "You're supposed to be dead…"

The Lifemaker said nothing as he slowly floated closer. He came to a stop, and raised his hand. What looked like flower petals flowed in from out of nowhere, coalescing to form Dynamis.

"You have done well in buying us time" Dynamis said. "Though there were many irregularities… Securing a direct path to the center of Mahora Academy, placing atop the altar the soul of the blood relative acting as the vessel, allowing me to obtain its flesh and blood… The timing of all this couldn't have been better."

More figures began to coalesce from the 'petals', resurrected by their lord's high-ancient magic.

"These are commendable contributions for a failure such as yourself… _Tertium_."

Secundum, Quartum, Quintum, Sextum, and four non-Averruncus figures took form between the Lifemaker and the hero trio, all of them completely unharmed.

"How are you…" Fate showed more shock than Negi had ever seen on him.

"Right now," Secundum said, "atop this altar brimming with the mane of this entire planet, nothing is impossible for our Lord, the Mage of Beginnings. …You've already used up nearly all of your magical reserves, and you can't even use your Arcane Barrier. Pathetic, Tertium."

"Are you forgetting us?" Teana said as she and Negi took combat stances.

"As long as my substitute plan exists," Negi said, "your group's plan no longer has any validity. As the successor to the wishes of the Thousand Master, my father, I, Negi Springfield, will not allow you to do as you please!-!"

"His son…" Secundum muttered, and then pointed his hand at the trio. "With those wounds… and such a difference in combat strength… What do you think you can accomplish at the moment?"

Secundum fired, a 15-foot-thick column of lightning surging toward Negi, Teana, and Fate. When it hit, it broke like waves against rocks, doing nothing. When the light faded, there was an orange, semi-transparent skeletal being surrounding the three, a large sword in its right hand of bone, its eyes glowing red along with Teana's own eyes.

"_Susanō_…" Teana said. "Stage One – the best I can call forth at this point in time. It's not yet fully complete, but… this is the ultimate defense – the most powerful technique of the _Mangekyō Sharingan_. When it's complete, absolutely nothing can break through it, and even at this lower form it's powerful enough to shrug off massive amounts of damage."

"Well then…" Quartum said with a bloodthirsty grin. "Let's see just how much punishment it can take."

He waved his hand forward, and a torrent of fire smashed into the glowing spectral defender, shoving Teana back a few feet. She grimaced, and the _Susanō _let out a low growl of exertion. Then he, Quintum, and the robed and horned woman let loose a simultaneous explosion of fire, lightning, and ice… which was blocked by Fate, who briefly called forth his barrier and added its defensive strength to Teana's. Another blast of lightning from Secundum was blocked by their combination seconds later.

Meanwhile, up on the altar, the others' plan to free Asuna had encountered two very dangerous obstacles: a long-haired, black-dressed girl, and Averruncus Primum. Quick as a flash, Kaede Fuyō yanked Mei Sakura out of the way of a lethal burst of lightning, and an explosion of fire from the mysterious girl was canceled out by two chakra-supercharged roars as Shion and Mai both went to their 3-Tailed States. A glowing, shifting-colored sphere of light shot forth at Primum – a Sunburst Shot fired by Marie's cannon. He raised a shield spell to block it, and the shield was nearly destroyed by the detonation, which also briefly blinded him long enough for Ahsoka to come rushing in, lightsabers drawn. Primum formed a solid blade of lightning magic over his right arm and instinctively blocked the bisecting strike and shooting a torrent of electrical energy from his fingertips at her, which she countered with her own burst of Force Lightning, the two electrical forces pushing against each other. The fire-user tried to blast Ahsoka from behind, only for a _Katon: Gōkakyū _from Kaede F. to force her to break off and engage the bone-wielding girl as she leapt in, twin bone-blades charged with Lightning-type chakra.

Down below, the large and heavily-muscled _Entelecheia _member leapt in at surprising speed, striking a devastatingly powerful physical blow that _Susanō _struggled to block, the ground beneath Teana caving in slightly. The man leapt away just in time for the hero trio to spot Secundum, Quintum, and the unknown long-haired male to begin simultaneously incanting the same spell. The air felt full of static charge, and Teana, knowing what was coming, diverted every ounce of chakra she safely could into her spectral summon, hoping she could withstand what was coming.

Three _Khilipl Astrape _hit them in very short succession. The _Susanō _barely withstood and was heavily damaged by the first one, and completely shattered halfway through the second, exposing Teana, Negi, and Fate to what remained of it and to all of the third. When the blinding light and the dust faded, the three all collapsed to the ground, burnt, heavily injured, and barely conscious. A short while later, Secundum walked up to them, placing his foot on the downed Fate's back.

"Looks like our positions have reversed from last time" he said to the boy. "You're at your limit, Tertium. At this point, it's already a miracle your body's still here. Don't worry. We will make up for the failure that you are and end this. Then everything will be settled once and for all, and the problem will be solved. You can just go to the other side now and reunite with the soul of that elf woman. I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on."

He turned to Teana, the redhead still trying to pull herself off the ground, to no avail, and to Negi, who lacked the strength to do even that.

"You are an interesting young woman" he said. "That your spectral summon managed to withstand one-and-a-half of the most powerful Lightning spell in existence before failing, even at what you called an incomplete state, is truly remarkable. Not to mention that you managed to defeat Dynamis with that wind-based technique of yours. A shame it wasn't enough. You will make an interesting addition to the Afterlife-World of _Kosmo Entelecheia_. …And you, Son of the Hero. A blessed world with your mother and father awaits you on the other side. If you are so inclined, it may even be a world full of friendship where you can get along with this failure beneath my feet. Now then…"

He raised a hand, and a Grand-Master Key appeared behind him.

"You shall all set off together! To the promised eternal bliss of _Kosmo Entelecheia_!-!"

And then a hand shot up from the shadows beneath Secundum, grabbing hold of his wrist. The hand's owner soon followed through.

"Jeez…" Evangeline said to Negi. "You two really couldn't do this without my help? Such a troublesome disciple you are…"

"You…" Secundum's eyes widened in scared recognition; Evangeline responded with a fanged grin.

Secundum's aura of lightning flared to life, but it had no effect on the immortal vampiress. Recognizing the magnitude of the threat he was facing, he unleashed two bursts of the Lifemaker's Code at her. However, the two chunks of 'petals' this blew out of Evangeline reversed course and reformed almost immediately, leaving her unharmed and smirking.

"Was that supposed to inconvenience me, little lightning bug?" she taunted, and then with a flick of the wrist she sent him tumbling heels-over-head and then kicked him away, the artificial man skidding to a stop on his feet well over 100 feet away.

"M-Master?" Negi struggled out.

"You three look like you've been through Hell twice over" Evangeline said. "It's not a bad look for you, really. Has setting out on this journey been worth it, boy?"

Meanwhile, up on the altar, a tiger made of flame launched by the fire-wielding girl was canceled out by an Ice Spreader shot from Marie, who then formed a hand-seal pattern with her left hand and fired a barrage of small fireballs from her mouth at Primum. The _Hōsenka _projectiles smacked into and dispersed off of the man's barrier, and Primum then narrowly dodged being vertically bisected by Shion's Void Blade, which had been charged and increased in size by her _Bijū _chakra. He blocked a swing from one of her three chakra tails, skidding backwards from the blow. A strike from Kū Fei's staff sent Primum tumbling, but he quickly regained control and lashed out with a torrent of lightning.

A wall of stone blocked the fire-girl's next attack, and Kaede F. let loose six Lightning Hounds that dashed across the battlefield toward her. Cat-like creatures composed of fire was the girl's response, the two "packs" smashing into each other and canceling out. A barrage of shadow-spears from Takane flew in, crashing against a barrier the fire-user quickly threw up, leaving her unable to defend from a Force Push from directly above that hammered her into the ground. Ahsoka landed and then quickly dashed forward, lightsabers drawn and ready to strike a killing blow. However, Primum broke off his assault on Shion and Fei to block Ahsoka's strike, kicking her away. Then, Primum summoned a storm of petrification spikes and sent them flying not at the girls of Gamma Team, but at Takane and the noncombatants. Before they could hit, however, two more people joined the battle, deflecting every last one of them and landing in front of the girls: Eishun Konoe and Headmaster Konoemon Konoe.

"Father! Grandpa!" Konoka cried out. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry we're so late" Eishun said. "Thank goodness you're all safe."

"I didn't expect to get involved in such a big mess…" Konoemon said. "Still… Let's do our best, son-in-law."

"Why are you here, McDowell?-!" Dynamis said, pointing to the girl. "Wait… I remember now. The Thousand Master sealed you in Mahora Academy. …I had not foreseen you would choose to side with the humans. …However, if your power is as rumored, then what can you do against such numbers as us?"

Evangeline grinned. "The dimensional barrier between this location and Mahora Academy has pretty much failed."

Before Dynamis could process this, he felt a hand on his shoulder. In a whorl of black, Albireo Imma's micro black-hole severed Dynamis' right arm and a good portion of his right torso; the white-robed man leapt away milliseconds before he too could be consumed. Quartum, Sextum, and Secundum began charging attacks, as did the robed figure, the large muscle-man, and the long-haired man. Albireo responded with a pair of summoning circles. When Secundum and Quartum charged, Takahata and Gödel leapt out from the summoning runes, sending the two young upstarts flying back. Seconds later, Primum and the fire-girl landed in front of Dynamis, while Konoemon, Eishun, Shion, Kaede F, Marie, Mai, and Ahsoka came down on the heroes' side of the battlefield.

"How ya holding up, Boss?" Marie asked Teana, who had somehow managed to pull herself up to a kneeling position.

"Not so good" she replied with a small grin. "I won't be doing any more fighting for a few days, that's for sure. Think you girls can handle the rest without me?"

"We've got this, Teana-san" Shion said, her beast-shaped green aura surging around her as her three chakra tails lazily drifted back and forth.

"To be honest," Albireo said, "it never crossed my mind that your journey could become such a venture, Negi-kun. For you to have come this far… is truly magnificent!"

"You've fought well" Eishun said. "You've done enough for today, Negi-kun."

"You've grown so much…" the Headmaster said. "I hardly recognize you now."

"Leave the rest to us" Takamichi added.

"When this is over," Kurt finished, "I want to hear everything regarding this 'plan' of yours. In full detail!"

With a thud, another, larger figure landed amongst the heroes, and the jaws of Negi and Gamma Team dropped.

"R-Rakan-san?-!"

The giant man gave a thumbs-up in reply. "With the combination of the Princess' power and my own unconquerable spirit," he said, "not even death can stop me."

He then turned to Fate. "Pull yourself together, kid. Don't let yourself be finished off like this. You're finally going to find an answer of your own – an answer worth betraying your old master to obtain."

Finally, he turned to face the enemy. "Alright, you bastards! Let's do this!"

"You, Rakan?-!" Secundum shouted with an evil smile as he called forth the Lifemaker Key. "And what difference does it make, reviving a puppet of this world such as you? Before we, who control the laws of this world, you are nothing!-!"

To Secundum's astonishment, Rakan easily _dodged _the bursts of the Code. Finally, what looked to be a solid hit was landed.

"So…" Rakan said from directly behind Secundum, to the latter's astonishment "You're Averruncus Number 2, right? That thing is useless so long as I can dodge it."

In response, the two non-Averruncus women of the Lifemaker's little army began incanting spells, while the two men charged forward. In response, everyone on the heroes' side charged forward except Evangeline, who began charging power, and Kaede F., who began using medical _ninjutsu _to tend to Teana, Negi, and Fate. Rakan's right cross sent Secundum hurtling away at high speed, while Evangeline began to incant her newest spell:

"_Hupakoson Ten Diatheken, Akouson Me, Aionia Basilisa, Tou Skotous Kai Tes Chionos! Anthismena Leuka Rhoda, Tou Pag Kipos Atermonos En Hupnoi!_" ("Obey the contract, answer me, darkness, ice and snow, the queen of eternity! The coursing white rose of ice, the sleeping eternal garden!")

Quartum, Quintum, and Sextum flash-stepped in, surrounding Evangeline and preparing to strike her down. Eva, however, effortlessly sent them packing with just three physical attacks, and then returned to her incantation.

"_Epigenetheto, Taionion Erebos, Aionie Krustalle!_" ("Come, everlasting darkness, the eternal glacier!")

Quartum and Secundum charged again, only for Konoemon and Shion to send them hurtling back again. Dynamis held his Key high, and a large and complex black summoning circle appeared overhead.

"_Kosmo Entelecheia _All Record Archives, Forced Summon! Rebirth: Ancient Dragon _Vrkso-Nagasya_!-!" 

A titanic four-winged bipedal dragon-like entity came into being, its once-white armored hide now gray and black.

"You're forcing my old buddy to fight against me?" Jack Rakan said. "Oh, now that's just not cool, you bastard!"

Up on the altar, there was a bright flash of continuous light visible, as the girls of 3-A began working to break through the field holding Asuna prisoner.

Rakan leapt at the massive black dragon, dealing a crushingly powerful one-two blow that send the huge being tumbling away, to the astonishment of Secundum. As Shion smashed the ice-using unknown female into the ground with an extended chakra claw, and Albireo continued trying to crush Quintum with spheres of gravity magic, Evangeline's incantation neared its end.

"_Meta Tou Psuchrou Keraunou, Sullamb Ta Apsukha Upokheimena! Thaumaste Galene, Leuka Rhoda Anthismena Aionion Desmoterion!_" ("Imprison the soulless puppets with frozen lightning! The enchanting tranquility, the eternal prison of white roses blooming in profusion!")

Evangeline grinned. "Here it comes… _APERANTOS LEUKOS OURANOS!-!_" ("ENDLESS WHITE NINE HEAVENS!-!")

A massive whirling tornado of ice and lightning sprang up around Evangeline, and soon tendrils of frozen lightning began surging out from it, heading straight for the soldiers of _Kosmo Entelecheia_. The large, muscled man attempted to block it, but on contact he was frozen solid in a spire of electrified ice.

"This is an original spell developed to annihilate performance-obsessed fools like you lot who only rely on shields!" Evangeline shouted with glee. "The lightning-ice vines of my white rose seek out you mass-produced units, completely enclose your overblown barriers, and continuously freeze their surroundings!"

In short order, most of the KE forces were consumed. Secundum took off flying, trying to outrun the several lightning-ice tendrils now pursuing him.

"I thought you were just some rogue mage with nothing but rumors to her name!" he shouted. "This is the Dark Evangel?-! I never heard you were this powerful!"

Rakan leapt away as the tendrils engulfed the black dragon, while at the same time one of them latched onto Secundum's ankle. Within seconds, he was completely consumed in a crystalline prison of electrified ice, which fell to the ground with a thud. Soon the battlefield was silent, a massive field of twisting ice; even the lava was frozen solid. On one patch of ice, Evangeline and Rakan stood; Negi and Fate were being held up by Evangeline telepathically, floating next to the standing Kaede F. and Mai, while Teana was still kneeling.

"I understand" Rakan said. "If you keep freezing their immediate surroundings, they're not dead… and they can't regenerate, either."

"I thought it might end up like this" Evangeline replied. "So I've been developing this spell ever since Kyōto. However, as it only targets unique, artificial beings of their type, it's hard to find a use for it."

"I thought you weren't interested in things on this side…" Rakan said. "Just what caused this curious turn of events? Friendship? Or maybe… something more?"

"Do you want to join them as a frozen statue? If so, keep talking."

"…Wait. If it only targets puppets then…"

"Yes. Don't let your guard down, any of you! The spell likely didn't work on him! Use the time we have to retreat back to Mahora."

"**I will not allow that, Evangeline.**"

Suddenly, the four still able to fight found themselves frozen in place, an SS-rank paralysis spell gripping them.

"**That was a wonderful spell, my daughter…**"

And now the Lifemaker stood right next to them all.

In an instant, Konoemon, Eishun, Takahta, Gödel, Albireo, Shion, Marie, and Ahsoka all leapt at the Lifemaker, attacking him all at once. With one movement from the cloaked, unnaturally tall figure, they were all sent flying helplessly, heavily injured. A second later, Negi was being held up off the ground by the clawed hand currently clenched around his throat.

Mai was about to try and break free by calling up all six tails' worth of Tailed-Beast power within her, but Asuna beat her to it, a downward slice of her massive anti-magic sword severing the Lifemaker's left arm, freeing Negi. She moved back, catching him in her arms and pulling him into a hug.

"…Why are you making me worry like this again?-!" she suddenly shouted. "What is all this?-! You look like you're half-dead!"

"What are you saying?-!" Negi responded. "It's the other way around this time! Everyone else was really worried, too!"

"Huh?-! What are you talking about? They were worried about you!"

"No, they were worried about _you_!"

"Well, I couldn't help it! But you went and did something stupidly reckless again! Besides, if I hadn't helped you out back then, either you or Fate would've been blown to bits! You "want to be friends with him"? Idiot!"

"Asuna…" Teana cut in with a deadpan tone. "Look behind you."

She and Negi looked, to see the Lifemaker finishing pulling himself back together and calling forth a massive and complex black rune pattern. He fired several simultaneous pitch-black beams of energy… which were nullified by Asuna's sword.

"Negi!" she shouted. "Let's end this!"

He grabbed hold of the hilt of her sword, his hands over hers, and charged his power into it. They swung the sword forward at the same time, releasing a brilliant white wave of light that bisected the Lifemaker, whose body began to fade away… and whose hood fell back.

"…Negi" Nagi said. "Come and kill me. Please. This is just a projection; the Lifemaker's real body is still in stasis. He's using me as a possessed vessel; I can only talk to you right now because his spirit's been sent back to our body. …If you kill me, he will die as well. And that will put an end to everything. …I'll be waiting."

The projection of the Lifemaker faded away, blowing away in the wind. Several seconds later, Negi calmly spoke to Asuna, not facing her.

"Asuna-san? If you would please stabilize this planet?"

"…I've already stopped the collapse" the girl replied. "All that's left to do is restore the 128,607 people who have already been erased. I can't bring back the buildings and such, though."

"…Do it, please."

Asuna nodded, and the Great Grand-Master Key flew into her right hand, her sword – still carrying Negi's power – in her left. After an incantation spoken in a long-dead language, she released a pillar of light visible from space, which became a wave of light that raced out and enveloped the entire planet.

-_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

That's pretty much it for the canon stuff. From here on out, things get original.

Regarding terminology used with the technique _Susanō_: Stage 0 is forming part of the thing (like, say, an arm or a ribcage; what Sasuke used against the 4th Raikage); Stage 1 is the full skeleton (what Sasuke used against Gaara); Stage 2 is the addition of muscle, flesh, and a weapon (what Sasuke used against Danzō); and Stage 3 is the whole, armored and clothed thing (what Itachi used against Sasuke, what Sasuke tried to intimidate Kakashi with). At the moment in the story, Teana hasn't yet managed to get past Stage 1.


	23. Flames

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

The next 10 days were peaceful. Negi and company spent the first few days on a whirlwind tour of _Mundus Magicus_, being praised far & wide as the heroes who'd saved the world. Teana spent those days eating large amounts of food to replenish her lost chakra from the battles (thankfully for her, nearly the entirety of what she consumed went into chakra replenishment, leaving none left for fat buildup). During her recovery, however, something strange was noticed. When her strength returned to her as her injuries and exhaustion healed, her overall level of power had increased by a little bit, as if her body was adapting itself to be tougher to harm after healing, much like muscle or bone normally did. Genetic analysis showed it to be an inherited trait from her father, Tarlis Lanstar, who'd been killed by Madara in the same battle that killed her mother (all accounts said he'd died first, in fact, with Sayuri Uchiha-Lanstar lasting a little longer, though both of them had ensured Madara didn't leave the battlefield unscathed). Teana couldn't really remember anything about her dad other than that he had jet-black hair.

Asuna had somehow successfully created a trans-dimensional link between Mundus Magicus and The Ark, with the latter now supplying "power" to the former. When questioned on how exactly she had managed to do that by simply going into a magically meditative state while sitting atop a planetary magical nexus, she allowed them to hear her memory of the voice she'd heard:

"_Greetings, Reclaimer. I have received a report from the personal Artificial Intelligence of the young Reclaimer who killed the fallen San'Shyuum on this Installation not too long ago. Thus, I know of the plight facing the artificial realm you presently occupy. I will be happy to lend this Installation's power to preserving that world._

"_Who am I, you ask? My name is Mendicant Bias, and I have done many terrible things. I know that helping you save two billion lives will not balance out the hundreds of billions I condemned so long ago. But it's a start._"

With Asuna working from one end and the ancient A.I. from the other, setting up the link was quick and easy. Mundus Magicus would be sustained long enough for Mars' terraforming, without Asuna having to make herself into a living magical battery.

After the "Victory Tour" of Mundus Magicus came to its end, the gang all headed back to Earth… including Jack Rakan, thanks to him volunteering as another "test subject" for the program to enable MM natives to exist outside of that world (Misora's little friend Cocone turned out to be the first test-subject, and a member of the same race as Rakan). By this point, Teana was back up to full strength, and the others had healed from their injuries and exhaustions as well.

It wasn't long before there were two new Pactios. Akira's ability to teleport between bodies of water was a very versatile and useful Artifact, while Ayaka's rose-thorn whip would certainly be handy. Chizuru, meanwhile, was trying to figure out how to best badger Kotarō into forming a Pactio Contract with her.

Fate Averruncus and four of his _Ministrae _had come over as well, and the five of them were pressed into "community service" as extra security for Mahora Academy (_Yōkai _attacks had been on the rise lately); Luna/Shiori was exempt, as she was both a noncombatant and had switched sides willingly rather than being pulled along by Fate, having given vital intel to Negi and his group. Tsukuyomi was nowhere to be found, though the Dark Blade Hina was found to still be where she'd dropped it after Setsuna defeated her; Eishun was curious how losing the daemonic weapon (now safely back in sealed storage at the Konoe Estate) after being its thrall for so long would affect the lecherous swords-girl.

Faced with the knowledge that they'd have to confront the Lifemaker eventually, everyone spent whatever time they could training, with several of them working on new techniques.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**One week before Summer Break ends**

**An empty field inside the bounds of Mahora Academy**

**6:15 PM**

Teana and two of her Shadow Clones focused intently on the whirling sphere of energy currently held in Teana's right palm. The wind began to swirl around them as the technique's power built, but all of a sudden it cataclysmically destabilized, dispelling the Shadow Clones and sending Teana flying, as well as blowing a small crater in the ground where she'd been standing. She landed several feet away and rolled to a stop at the feet of Fate Averruncus, who looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow.

"I'm assuming that wasn't supposed to happen?" he asked.

"Duh" Teana groaned out in reply. She pulled herself up onto her feet, her left hand grasping her right wrist.

"I don't think it's broken" she muttered as she moved her sore wrist every which way. "Some _good _luck, for a change…" She then looked up to face Fate. "I'm trying to work on a technique that a friend of mine created. It's extremely complex, requiring a massive amount of chakra – which I have – and an obscene degree of fine control – which I, apparently, don't have yet. If pulled off right, it's devastating in terms of power and thoroughness of damage; I doubt even Rakan could get back up after being hit by one. But it's just too damn hard to pull off in the first place! The only reason I'm still trying is because the technique's creator has even worse chakra control than I do. The problem is that he never told us exactly how _he _did it!"

"I don't suppose I could be of assistance?"

"No. Your affinity is Earth; this is a Wind-based technique." She let out a long, weary sigh. "I guess I'll try once more for the day after dinner."

Before Fate could say anything, they both sensed a sudden surge of magical power at the World Tree. Upon close inspection, the Tree was glowing faintly, but instead of the "normal" white, this was a blood-red glow. The two glanced at each other and then immediately took off, tree-hopping and then building-hopping to make best speed without the higher risk of being seen by Mundanes that flying would bring. When they were halfway there, the Tree's activity increased substantially; bolts of red lightning began crackling along the trunk, occasionally striking the ground at the tree's base. Mundanes were already fleeing the area. A flash of red-orange signaled Teana's Barrier Jacket activating, and she & Averruncus picked up the pace.

By the time they arrived, everyone else was there as well – Ala Alba, the few members of Ala Rubra present at the school, the Headmaster, Fate's _Ministrae_, and the rest of Gamma Team. Even Evangeline had come running, her chakra flaring as she prepared to react. Crimson bolts of magical energy crisscrossed the area around the World Tree's base. Asuna moved up next to Teana, wielding her greatsword in one hand and – Teana double-took – Darth Nihilus' lightsaber (presently inactive) in the other.

'So _that's _where it went…' Teana thought.

"I don't suppose you have an explanation for this, Headmaster?" Shion asked Konoemon.

"No" the old man replied in a very serious tone. "I do not."

The magical red lightning began to increasingly focus on a single point, the bolts converging at a spot between two of the World Tree's massive roots. Albireo and Konoemon both went visibly pale as they remembered what was buried there, and realized what was happening. As a dark wind began to blow through the plaza, Albireo moved forward, calling forth a sealing spell that surrounded the location where the red lightning was converging.

"Klaus!" he shouted. "Help me with this!"

The older man responded, stepping forward, flexing the joints of his new mechanical left arm and shoulder. A mumbled incantation, and a larger and more complex multi-layer sealing rune sprang up to support Albireo's. However, it wasn't long before both men were visibly straining to push back whatever was trying to emerge.

"Why aren't you helping them?" Chisame said to Jack Rakan, who looked dead-serious.

"I suck at sealing techniques" the giant replied. "I always left that kinda stuff to those two."

Negi, Fate, and Takamichi all added their own seals to the combo, but they were rapidly outclassed as well. There was a pulse of dark power from within the tree's base, and the five would-be sealers were knocked off their feet as their sealing runes shattered. Then, there was a near-blinding red light, as the black winds howled and swirled around its source. The light brightened, and another pulse knocked everyone to the ground. In the space of half a second, a massive red crystal materialized and then shattered violently, a burst of light and a shockwave racing out.

After several seconds, everyone looked up… and were terror-stricken as they laid eyes on the tall, black-robed figure floating a few feet off the ground, looking at them all.

"**It appears that there is a trans-dimensional mana-link bridge connecting my world to… ah, the Forerunners' Ark**" the Lifemaker said. "**The resulting ripples in Mundus Magicus' and Earth's background magical energy caused by such a massive connection must have weakened the seal that kept me imprisoned. How fortuitous.**"

Teana went pale at this, pupils shrinking as the realization sank in: her plan to save the other world without sacrificing Asuna had allowed the Lifemaker to escape. It was _her _fault. _HER FAULT_…

Before anyone could even get back on their feet, the Lifemaker vanished, a whorl of his robes becoming a swirl of black smoke as he teleported elsewhere. Everyone carefully got back up… well, almost everyone. Teana was on her knees, arms hanging limply at her sides, eyes wide and body trembling.

"I… I didn't…" she was whimpering. "I just wanted… I just wanted to solve the problem without sacrificing Asuna-san… I didn't mean to… I n-never wanted t-to… I… My fault… This is all my fault…"

"Hey." Jack placed a large hand on her shoulder, speaking unusually softly. "Don't go blaming yourself so harshly. Your plan was solid. It's not your fault you didn't see planetary mana resonance as part of the equation. _None _of us did. This was completely, totally unforeseeable. Don't beat yourself up for not knowing about things you didn't even know you didn't know about. This was something that _nobody _could've seen coming."

"So what do we do now?" Setsuna asked.

"We pick ourselves up," Takahata replied, "and start making plans for Armageddon."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Mundus Magicus**

**Frozen lava fields beneath the Gravekeeper's Palace**

A lone, black figure appeared hovering in the sky above the massive field of vine-and-flower-shaped ice. He could sense his underlings imprisoned within the ice. He raised a hand and reached his power out, only for the SS-rank spell to rebuff him. He smirked; Evangeline had certainly become very, very powerful. He tried again, this time putting _much _more power into it, and the crystal prisons shattered, freeing their captives. As they regained their bearings and magically warmed themselves, he floated down to them. Upon seeing him, they all gasped in shock and then knelt down on one knee.

"Milord!" Dynamis said. "How is it that you are here before us?"

"**A large-scale trans-dimensional planetary mana bridge has been formed between this world and a titanic artificial structure, with the latter supplying the former without mana to sustain this world for at least 10,000 years. The resonant ripples through this star system's background mana weakened the seal that held me, allowing me to escape. …Before I left that realm, I gleamed from young Springfield's mind an image of the planet Mars and the word 'terraforming'; together with the mana-bridge, I assume it is his plan to 'save this world'.**"

"…Ingenious…" Dynamis muttered.

"**Indeed. However, it does not solve the other crucial problem. Intolerance, hatred, bloodshed, and chaos still run rampant in this world. The souls of this world's dolls are still tainted and suffering. Mundus Magicus must still be purged, its people sent to the Eternal Garden.**"

"Of course, milord" Dynamis replied. "What will you have us do?"

"**We cannot stay here. That's what they'll be expecting. We shall head to Earth and go to ground there, where there is more room to stay hidden. Also, I have something planned for that planet…**"

With a wink, the entire group disappeared.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Mahora Academy**

**That Night**

The members of Ala Alba, Fate & his _Ministrae_, and Gamma Team were gathered in the backyard of Evangeline's cabin. They had managed – barely, and after three hours' work – to pull Teana out of her self-deprecation over the unforeseeable consequence of her plan, and now they had been discussing strategies for the past half an hour. One thing that was unanimously agreed upon was that the Lifemaker would nigh-certainly free his underlings from Evangeline's spell; in response to that, Fate was telling them all everything he knew about the capabilities & personalities of each & every one of them, particularly those whom Ala Alba were unfamiliar with – the water/ice user Septendecim, the fire-users Ichii and Nii, and the lightning-user Tésseris.

Discussions were interrupted by a narrow pillar of light that suddenly came down from the heavens, making landfall in the center of the backyard. Everyone jumped back, drawing weapons and Artifacts. After a few seconds, it faded away, revealing a teen girl in a crouching position – a girl who everyone recognized as she stood up and flashed them a smile.

"Hey, everyone!" Chao said. "Told you I'd be back someday!"

Her expression then turned serious. "My newest device enables me to take peeks at various alternate timelines. Care to explain why there is now one where Earth and Mundus Magicus are both ravaged, depopulated wastelands?"

"Teana-san and I came up with a plan to stop Mundus Magicus from collapsing" Negi explained. "Her half of the plan involved setting up a cross-dimensional link between Mundus Magicus and a titanic magitech construct called Installation-00, which would then supply MM with enough mana to keep it up for 10,000 years – long enough for my half of the plan: terraforming Mars, which would allow its renewed planetary mana to permanently sustain Mundus Magicus. …Unfortunately, the resonance in the Solar System's background mana caused by the dimensional mana-link weakened the Lifemaker's seal, allowing him to escape."

Chao sighed and face-palmed. "Of course; that level of understanding of planetary-scale magical matrices and nexuses won't be reached by the magical government's magi-science division for at least 60 years from now."

"The only other option was sealing Asuna away for 115 years" Setsuna said, her tone darkening. "Are you implying that you would rather we had done that?"

Several of the group clandestinely readied weapons and/or Pactio cards in case Chao said "yes". Chao, of course, noticed the concealed hostility.

"No, that's not what I'm saying" Chao said. "Like I said, it's something six decades ahead of even the most brilliant minds of the magical worlds of today – totally unforeseeable by your current level of magi-science understanding, like expecting a 1930's-era Mundane human to understand the intricate inner workings of an antigravity generator or a fusion reactor if that person doesn't even understand the fine details of gravity or basic nuclear physics."

"We've been discussing potential plans of action" Negi said. "Fate-san here switched sides, and he's provided us a great deal of intel on the other members of _Kosmo Entelecheia_."

Chao raised an eyebrow as she looked at Fate. "You actually managed to convince an Averruncus to switch sides of his own free will? That's quite a feat… especially considering most Averruncus models don't _have _free will."

"The Lifemaker created me to have free will so that I would have more flexibility of thought" Fate explained. "He relied on indoctrination to secure my loyalty to him, as opposed to hard-wiring it in like he did with the others. When Negi-kun bested me in combat and then outlined his & Lanstar's plan, I saw the soundness of it and decided to give it a try. …I did not foresee my old master's release."

"As I said, nobody alive today could have" Chao replied.

"Any suggestions on what we should do?" Mai asked Chao.

"We should find a way to remotely monitor the major magical nexuses of Earth _and _of Mundus Magicus. That way, if the Lifemaker or any of his disciples tap into one of them, we'll know where they are."

"We should organize a meeting with the Headmaster and the Governor-General and Empress Theodora, then" Negi said.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Three days after Chao's arrival, the two worlds' magical leyline-nexuses began being monitored, a network of magical sensors feeding data to two central command areas – a war-room in the Hellas Imperial Castle for Mundus Magicus, and a special room in Mahora Academy Security Headquarters for Earth. Both networks were being monitored round-the-clock, looking for any abnormal fluctuations.

Gamma Team took this time to show the same footage shown to Ala Alba on Mundus Magicus, along with the addition of Negi's adventures from his arrival at the Academy to the recent battle against Fate and then the reborn Lifemaker's avatar, to those of Negi's now-in-the-know classmates who hadn't seen it before, as well as those who _had _been "in the know" but hadn't seen it (Evangeline, Satsuki, Zazie, Chao, and Satomi) and the mages of the Mahora staff. Reactions had been varied but predictable – awe, shock, hot-blooded cheering, tears, horror, happy tears, some laughter, etc. Many of the girls of 3-A – as well as most of the Mahora Staff Mages – now looked at Teana with a mixture of awe, respect, a little fear, and a touch of sympathy. Also, Ahsoka was getting fangirled just a little since now they all knew who she was, as the _Star Wars _multimedia series existed in this universe. Not to mention all the sympathy Negi was now getting thanks to his past, along with the girls freaking out at the revelation that he was a literal prince (never mind that Negi himself had not known of his own royal heritage until mere weeks ago, or that the kingdom he was prince of was a smoldering, depopulated ruin).

Four days after the monitoring network was set up, a nexus monitor was "tripped" in southeast Russia. Scans showed the magical energy signature of a Mundus Magicus native, and seeing that the seven allied MM natives on Earth were all presently at Mahora, it was obvious who was responsible. Teana and Mai were sent out to investigate (the former carrying the unable-to-fly latter).

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Russia (Zabaykalsk Region)**

Averruncus Quartum let out an annoyed grumble as he hovered over the magical nexus, waiting through the long and arduous process of tapping its mana. He _could _be out killing things, but _noooo_, Dynamis sent him out here, where there were no people to burn and he had to spend _five fucking hours _setting up a link to this nexus for Lord Lifemaker. He looked at the time-keeping device he'd been given, and groaned; he'd only been at this for 2.5 hours so far. All this agonizing boredom and he was only halfway done! He looked up, spotting a flock of birds flying overhead. Bored, he pointed his palm at them, preparing to fire a shot that would cook the lot of them.

Suddenly, he heard something approaching fast. He reacted on instinct, barely dodging the barrage of red-orange magical projectiles. He looked in the direction they'd come from, and saw two figures approaching, one carrying the other in flight. Quartum let out a psychotic grin; finally, he'd get a fight. He descended to the ground to meet them.

Teana set Mai down and then touched down herself just as the other figure set foot on the earth. Teana looked close – the body structure, hairstyle, and the expression on his face all fit the description for Averruncus Quartum, the fire-user whom Negi had bisected back at the last big battle only for the Lifemaker to revive. According to Fate, Quartum was the most bloodthirsty of the group by a significant margin (though Secundum was supposedly not too far behind in that regard), taking great pleasure in incinerating anyone he got the chance to; it was probably a very good thing the area surrounding the nexus was already uninhabited. Teana's _Sharingan _spun to life, her aura seething, while Mai tapped into the _Hachibi_'s power and entered the 2-Tailed State.

"Dynamis told us about you" Quartum said to Teana. "A battle-hardened young soldier who's powerful, possesses techniques of dangerous effects, and prefers using lethal force against her enemies. In other words, the perfect opponent for a 'battle maniac' like me. ….And you brought one of your team's _Jinchūriki _with you, as well. This should be fun…"

For several seconds, nobody moved. Then, in a blur of motion, Teana weaved a quick pattern of hand seals and then released a huge fireball from her mouth at Quartum. At the same time, Mai made her own hand seals and thrusted both arms forward to unleash what looked like a 20-foot snake made of lightning-type chakra. Quartum fired an explosive burst of flame that impacted and cancelled out Teana's _Gōkakyū_, and then leapt into motion as Mai's _Raihebidan_ began chasing him, the ground being shocked into black glass wherever the lightning-snake touched it as it pursued the Averruncus. After a moment of putting up with the chase, a _Jaculatio Ignis _through the 'head' from Quartum finished the chakra construct off, dispelling it.

Quartum then was blindsided by a punch to the face… from a solid-chakra fist as big as his whole body. He was sent tumbling several meters, barely stopping himself from crashing into and through a rock formation. He saw a few high-speed blades of wind flying through the air toward him, and formed a wall of fire to block them… a wall that the three wind-blades then cut clean through, and now they were on fire and _still _heading towards him. He narrowly dodged the first two, and the third one nicked his cheek, leaving a burnt cut. The blades then hit the rock behind him, cutting deep gouges into it that sizzled with heat. Before he could move again, Teana was in front of him, and she hit him in the chin with a crushing uppercut, her magic- and chakra-enhanced strength sending him flying 100 feet into the air and nearly breaking his magic-reinforced jaws.

He regained control and hovered about 115 feet off the ground, looking down at his two opponents. Teana soared up straight towards him at high speed, a Cross-Mirage Longsword snapping to life in her hands. Quartum brought up a shield of solid flame over his right arm and blocked the blade of violent magical energy, which began to slowly force its way through the shield. With his left hand, he tried to fire a short-range shotgun burst of flame, only for Teana to twist out of the way, breaking off her attempt to cut through his shield. A horizontal swing of the energy blade aimed at his neck was blocked as he formed a blade of solid fire-magic over his left forearm and hand, locking blades with her. A short swordfight ensued, Teana calling up her second blade, working to parry his strikes and try to take out his Flame Shield.

After a little while of this, Teana went for a double overhead strike. Quartum raised his Flame Shield over his head to block, and the defense shattered on impact, protecting him but also sending him down to the ground with the momentum behind the super-strong girl's attack. He landed on his feet, kicking up dust upon impact, and saw as Mai began weaving a complex pattern of hand seals. Grinning, Quartum began charging his own attack, a Vetus-system rune appeared beneath his feet. His attack was fired first, making it two-thirds of the way between the two combatants before Mai got her attack off. However…

"_Flagrantia Rubicans_!"

"_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu_!"

Not only did the torrent of water Mai unleashed have a natural advantage over the wave of flame Quartum fired, but it was larger and had more base power than Quartum's spell. The Red Blaze was quickly extinguished, and Quartum brought up a multi-layer shield that barely withstood the bone-crunching wave of water. No sooner had he lowered the barely-intact shield than…

"_Fūton: Daitoppa_!"

The artificial boy barely managed to brace himself as the massive concussive blast of wind smacked into him from Teana, who'd landed several meters away and unleashed the technique. She kept it going for several seconds, and for the last few Quartum lost his footing and was blown backwards through the air for a respectable distance, his tumble ending on his knees and one hand. He snarled and then shot upward into the sky, gaining considerable height, and then unleashed a barrage of 107 fire-style _Sagitta Magica _down at his foes. Teana took to the air again, flying around some of the projectiles while a shield cast by Cross Mirage blocked others; Mai remained ground-bound, letting loose a well-timed chakra-amplified roar/shockwave that deflected the bolts about to hit her. She then looked up as Teana and Quartum gained altitude while firing at each other, and sighed.

"I really need to get good enough with magic to be able to fly with it…" Mai muttered as she deactivated her Tailed-Beast Cloak; that high up, Teana was on her own.

The two Fire Mages continued trading attacks, arrows of fire from Quartum meeting _Hōsenka _flame bullets, _Shinkūgoku _wind bullets, and Crossfire Shot bolts from Teana. Quartum formed and threw his _Gladius Divinus Flammae Ardentis_, the huge fire-spear impacting an in-transit _Katon: Gōenkyū _from Teana, the two powerful attacks exploding on contact with each other. Teana fired a Forsaken Buster, only for Quartum to summon his huge fire-ogre familiar to intercept the beam, being taken down but protecting him from the attack.

After a few more minutes of pitched combat, Quartum and Teana hovered in the air facing each other, panting lightly, around 300 feet apart from each other. Then, as one, both began charging the same attack, him thanks to the Lifemaker programming it into him, and her thanks to having seen Chao do it with _Sharingan _active, and having practiced to make it her own.

"_To Sumbolaion Diakoneto Moi,_" "_Ho Turanne Phlogos…_"

Vetus-system magical rune-circles sprang into being beneath their feet. Their arms were held out at their sides in a T-formation, raw fire magic gathering in them.

"_Epigenetheto, Phlox Catharseos,_" "_Phlogine Romphaia_…"

"_Rheusanton, Pur Kai Theon_," "_Ha Epephlegon Sodoma_…"

"_Hamatalous Eis…_" "_…Choun Thanatou…_"

BOTH: "_Ourania Phlogosis!-!_" ("Burning Sky!-!")

Two huge columns of near-white-hot flame came racing out, meeting in the middle and beginning a superheated reverse tug-of-war. Both combatants poured power into their techniques, trying to overcome the other. Eventually, however, Quartum's technique was slowly pushed back, and he realized that this whole time, while he'd been throwing out spell after spell, Teana had been using mostly chakra-fueled techniques, leaving her magical reserves close to full. Slowly but picking up speed, Teana's _Ourania Phlogosis _was winning. At the last moment, Quartum released his technique and poured everything he had left into the strongest Arcane Barrier he could muster. The humongous torrent of fire slammed into Quartum's barrier like a burning freight train, the flames engulfing it from all sides. About three-quarters of the way through, his barrier finally failed, exposing him to several seconds of magical fire.

When the smoke cleared, Quartum hovered in the air, clothed all but burned away, flesh seared and hair singed (some of it was smoldering, in fact), gasping for breath. After a few seconds, his gasps turned into laughter. She'd failed to destroy him, even after hitting him with everything she had. Already he could feel his artificial body slowly mending itself, his aches & pains dulling slightly as his connection to Lord Lifemaker worked to gradually restore him. He looked up, his usual psychopathic grin on his face… and saw as a large sphere of red-orange pure magic was forming in the air in front of Lanstar. Quartum snarled and then called forth another "super-barrier"; it should be strong enough to (barely) withstand the "Stars' Death Cannon" their scout-summons had informed them of; after that, he would create a smokescreen and retreat.

Then Teana did something unexpected. With great effort, she willed the sphere of gathered energy to compress and shrink, becoming brighter. It continued until it was small enough for her to grasp in her right hand, which she then clenched into a fist with the energy still inside it. The magical power was then infused into her fist and forearm, which now shone with brilliant red light. She then flew forward at Quartum, her red eyes making contact with his grey-blue ones. She reached a significant speed, and then thrust her fist forward, impacting his barrier. She struggled to push through… and then she vanished.

Quartum's eyes widened, and he felt as the _genjutsu _she'd placed on him gave way, and he could see, out of the corner of his eye, the real Teana approaching from the side, bypassing his forward-faced barrier, and he heard her call out the name of her new attack, the power of an S-rank bombardment spell focused into a single moment, a single point, a single punch:

"_Star-Crusher!-!_"

There was a devastating shockwave and a burst of red-and-white light as the hypercharged physical attack struck Quartum's unprotected form dead-on. The living construct was killed instantly, his body completely consumed by the immense amount of raw energy that hit him. Several seconds later, a near-exhausted Teana descended back down to the ground, left hand clutching tenderly at her right arm.

"Hostile terminated" she reported breathlessly.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**That Night**

**Mahora Academy**

Teana lay back in the chair as Kaede and Mai's medical ninjutsu bathed her right forearm in a green glow.

"You actually managed to kill an Averruncus…" Takahata said. "Truly impressive, Lanstar-san."

"That being said," Colonel Holland added, "that technique you used – that 'Star-Crusher'? I'd suggest not using it again?"

"Why not?" Teana asked.

"Because it broke the radius bone of your right arm. Lanstar, your bones are laced with carbide-ceramics. They're damn near indestructible. And yet the recoil of that attack broke your arm. …Were that technique to be performed by someone _without _that level of bone enhancement, their arm would likely _shatter_. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to, using the shinobi classification system, deem the Star-Crusher a _kinjutsu_, not to be used unless you have no other option. Is that understood, Chief Warrant Officer?"

"…Yes, Colonel."

"Thankfully some nanites donated from the Phoenix League are using matter replication to repair the carbide-ceramic part of the break while Fuyō and Kitagawa use medical ninjutsu to heal the actual bone, so the break location won't be a weak spot. Get some rest, replenish your energy, and try not to use that arm for a day or two. Clear?"

"Crystal, sir"

Holland nodded, and then turned and left the room. Teana sighed and let her two medically-able team members continue their work.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	24. Thinning the Herd

Big chapter plus time-consuming separate project plus writer's block plus short attention span equals extra-long wait time. Sorry.

Also, there's no name given in canon for the long-haired lightning-using non-Averruncus CE member, so I have named him Tésseris.

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

The Lifemaker was annoyed. One of his underlings was dead. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, except for an unforeseen hurdle. When Quartum had been killed on _Mundus Magicus_, his soul had merely been transported to the Eternal Garden to await resurrection, but his recent death on Earth – where there was no link to the Eternal Garden - had resulted in his spirit passing on completely to the Beyond, beyond the Lifemaker's reach. Averruncus Quartum was truly dead, and the Lifemaker could not revive him. Presumably, the same would happen to any other CE members that may fall before this was all over.

This Lanstar girl was interesting. She bore, through her mother, the genetic heritage of the eldest son of the Six-Paths' Sage, the transcended human who'd dared wield as much power as the Lifemaker's flawless self, thanks to stealing the power of the Great Destroyer. And his scanning spell, performed when he'd been close to her (sort of) back on the Other World, told him that her father's blood was not that of a normal human, though the fact that the girl scanned as being fertile meant that, per the laws of biology, said dead man had to have been _some _sub-type of _Homo sapiens_. To add to that, during the brief time she was near his avatar, he had sensed the tiniest, harmless-to-her taint on her psychic signature that was the tell-tale sign of direct telepathic communication with a Flood Gravemind. It was certain she was not of this Earth… though perhaps, as he suspected, she was of a _different _Earth – a cross-dimensional traveler.

That she had managed to overpower and kill an Averruncus near-singlehandedly (even if Quartum, Quintum, and Sextum were a little less powerful than Primum, Secundum, or Tertium) demanded that she be treated with caution and factored into any of his potential future plans. She and her six-girl team may together prove to be almost as much of a threat as his current host's prodigious son, or as his own wayward experiment/daughter Evangeline.

The Lifemaker did have a plan, though. Let's see how those vaunted "heroes" handled having to split their forces…

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Four days after the death of Quartum**

No sooner had Teana's arm been healed/repaired and her energy replenished than the nexus scanners picked up activity in south-central Australia…and another nexus tap in a forest in Germany… and _another _up in Hokkaido. Three simultaneous nexus taps in three different parts of the world, separated by thousands of kilometers. It seemed that _Cosmo Entelecheia _was trying the "The Same, But More" approach. Ala Alba would have to send several of their heavy hitters out to meet them all. However, the possibility of the enemy anticipating such a move and sending an attack at a lightly-guarded Mahora Academy meant that they had to keep some of their high-power individuals at the Academy. Teams were soon selected, with Negi chosen to lead the "home defense" force, as everyone else headed out.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**A forest in Germany**

Atur Nii skulked through the thick forest, walking along a river as she munched on a fish she'd caught and fried recently. The nexus tap had begun, and now she had to stay within the (thankfully rather large) area of the nexus in order to oversee the setting up of the link. She sighed with boredom as she came across the shore of a small lake. A flock of ducks – she didn't know there were any in this part of the world – took flight from the water's edge, Nii's half-lidded eyes following them as they gained air.

Suddenly, however, as they were near-directly over her head, she saw as most of them abruptly vanished, and the one that didn't do so burst into a cloud of what looked like white smoke, totally obscuring it from view…

"Quack-quack, motherfucker!" Marie shouted as she suddenly emerged from the cloud of the dispelled Transformation Jutsu, Charon firing a charged Ice Shot down at the very surprised fire mage. Nii acted quickly, throwing up a hasty Shield spell that didn't quite take all of the surprisingly potent burst, a few shards of ice breaking through and cutting into her flesh. She gritted her teeth and raised her arms to block a gravity-assisted, magic-infused punch from the human, the soft ground beneath her giving way to the transferred force.

Marie used her remaining momentum to swing her leg around in a kick aimed at Nii's neck. Nii flash-stepped backward, dodging the blow (which, magically enhanced as it was, could've snapped a Mundane's neck) and began preparing a _Flagrantia Rubicans_… only to break it off and flash to the side to avoid being bisected by Setsuna, the half-_yōkai_'s sword crackling with lightning chakra as it cleaved downward through the space Nii had just been occupying.

Nii snarled as she called up a barrage of Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_, unleashing them at the two interferers. Marie and Setsuna took to the air in separate directions, the spell projectiles tracking and pursuing them. After failing to shake them or to impact each other's chasers, the two girls shrouded themselves in waterproofing spells and dove into the lake, the fire projectiles following them and quickly being extinguished. The two emerged from the water, still dry, and Marie fired a charged electrical "Wave Burst" while Setsuna drew her sword and unleashed a slicing wave of _ki_. A whirlwind of fire sprang up around Nii, stopping the attacks. It then shifted and twisted as she turned it into two spiraling columns of flame that shot toward the two girls, forcing them to go on the defensive again.

Setsuna awakened her Pactio with Konoka, the huge sword of light _Takemikazuchi_ forming in her free hand, which she then swung at the attack, cleaving the column of fire in two and dispelling it. Marie, meanwhile, had Charon form a powerful Midchildan shield-spell, which tanked Nii's attack. Three concussion missiles were then fired from Charon in quick succession, actually coming close to breaking through the quick shield-spell Nii conjured, the flashes and concussive bursts of their in-sequence detonations stunning Nii and making her teeth rattle. Setsuna charged in, swinging both of her swords down at Nii, who raised an overhead shield that shattered under the assault, though also managed to deflect and slow the attack enough for Nii to flash-step back out of its way.

Marie moved in next, Charon switched to energy-blade mode. She swung the violet blade, and Nii called forth a two-handed red-tinted black blade forged by the Lifemaker's power, blocking the attack. They flew into a short but intense duel, that ended with a left cross from Marie nailing Nii in the face, with Nii leaping back in a way that a slice meant by Marie to bisect her instead caused "only" a burning cut/slash across the fire-user's stomach. Nii's attempt to charge up a high-level Fire spell was stopped by Setsuna moving in, not giving her the time to incant any. Nii was again on the defensive, cursing her luck that she ended up being ambushed by two of _Ala Alba_'s more powerful members. Setsuna managed to get Nii turned around in the quick fight, and finished by launching her backward several meters with a kick. Nii rolled to a stop in a kneeling position and looked up… finding a glowing violet sphere of magic energy two feet front of her face.

"Fall" Marie said.

A magic cartridge ejected from Charon, and a "Super Missile" burst shot out and impacted Nii in the face, blowing her head and a portion of her upper torso to bits. The two-thirds-of-a-corpse toppled to the ground and then dissolved away into particles of mana. Charon vented a small amount of built-up heat, as Setsuna sheathed her steel blade and dispelled her solid-magic one.

"One more down" Marie said. "I wonder how the others are doing…"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Meanwhile**

**A desert area in south-central Australia**

Averruncus Secundum calmly turned around, not too surprised to see four teen girls standing there staring him and Tésseris down. He recognized Teana Lanstar, and the green-haired girl fit the description of the "void-using _Jinchūriki_" mentioned by Lord Dynamis. The other two were the orange-haired girl who possessed the Dead Bone Pulse bloodline, and the unusually tall, methodical _kunoichi _who was one of young Springfield's _Ministrae_. A few sparks of electricity arced across Tésseris' body, stored power waiting to be unleashed.

"Gamma-3, Nagase," Teana said without removing her gaze from Secundum, "you two handle the bigger guy. Shion and I will take Secundum."

"_Hai_" the two Kaedes chorused, Fuyō creating a bone-sword while Nagase readied a few specially-treated kunai. Tésseris smirked and slowly walked forward until he was a bit closer to them than Secundum was.

Secundum grinned. "I am fortunate that Lord Lifemaker has rescinded the order against killing non-natives of the Other World" he said.

"Unlike Negi and most of his girls," Teana replied, "my team and I have never had qualms about killing you bastards. As I told Dynamis, we're soldiers."

"I've already killed Sextum once," Shion said, "and I've heard from Imma-san that Teana-san managed to kill Quartum for good due to the limitations of your Master's resurrection power."

"The newer models, powerful as they may be, do not match we originals in strength or ability" Secundum said. "You'll not find me or Primum to be as weak as them."

After several seconds of still silence, Secundum made the first move, casting a _Dios Tukos _at Shion, who Void-Jumped out of the way, reappearing several meters to the side. Kaede F. fired a barrage of small, sharp stones, with some of Nagase's kunai mixed in. Tésseris fired a shockwave of lightning magic, deflecting the attacks. Teana, meanwhile, finished charging up a new variant of an old trick:

"Crossfire Shot: Macross Shift!"

A _huge _barrage of red-orange Crossfire projectiles shot out all at once, rushing toward the two artificial beings. Secundum and Tésseris combined shield spells, and the double-shield managed to barely withstand the punishing wave of lightly-explosive magical impacts. As soon as the shield was lowered, the two Kaedes charged Tésseris, a blocked chakra-charged punch from Nagase sending Tésseris flying backward through the air, the two girls giving chase. At the same time, Secundum moved at Teana and Shion, Teana shrouding her arm in Wind chakra to nullify the Lightning power infused into Secundum's punch that she blocked. She then countered with a _Rasengan _formed in her other hand, smashing it into a shield that Secundum hastily threw up, which allowed the Averruncus to get some distance with minimal damage, the shield being destroyed by the jutsu.

By now the two simultaneous battles were a few hundred feet away from each other. Fuyō and Nagase pressed their attack against Tésseris, not giving him the time to cast any of his spells strong or complex enough to require him to speak the incantations. Kaede Nagase, having discovered her chakra elemental affinity after the return to Earth and then trained with it in Evangeline's temporally-displaced resort, used _Doton: Doryūdan _to form a dragon's head made of soil, rock, and mud that then shot head-sized, high-speed bursts of mud at Tésseris, which were then set alight by Kaede Fuyō's well-aimed _Katon: Hōsenka _in flight, unleashing a barrage of burning mud at the long-haired artificial being. Tésseris dodged, flipped, and blocked with short-notice shield spells, narrowly avoiding any direct hits… and walking right into a trap in the form of a chakra-charged kick from one of Nagase's Shadow Clones that nearly snapped his spine. After he picked himself up, his aura flared, electrical energy arcing across his body. He charged.

Secundum unleashed a barrage of Lightning-type _Sagitta Magica_, the two teen girls being obscured by the dust kicked up by the impacts. The dust was promptly blown away by a flash of green chakra, revealing Shion in her 2-Tailed Form. She felt as the unnatural anger of the Tailed Beast's influence crept into her mind, but she maintained control for now. Teana, standing near her, lowered the multi-layer Midchildan shield spell she'd called up to protect herself.

"The power of a Tailed Beast…," Secundum said, "as well as the power of the Void. Interesting. And…" Secundum paused, his eyes widening slightly as he gained access to the stored data gathered on these two girls during their time in the elder Rainyday's false Eternal Garden. He grinned. "You have a rather interesting life… Shion Sonozaki."

The green-haired _Jinchūriki_'s eyes widened briefly, and then narrowed in anger, a snarl building in her throat. "Don't you _dare _call me by that name!" she shouted, her voice rough, her two solid-chakra tails thrashing about. "I have no surname!"

Secundum chuckled. "You can no more stop being a part of the very clan you hate than I can stop being an Averruncus. There is no escaping one's bloodline, regardless of how much pain one has suffered because of it. And as for you, Teana Uchiha-Lanstar… Even with all the training you've done, do you honestly think you'll ever be strong enough to defeat and gain revenge against that Takamachi girl for holding you back and lying to you? Natural, inborn talent beats hard work by those without it, and some vengeance can _never _be fulfilled…"

The response from Teana was predictable, as her Stage-1 _Susanō _flared into being, the skeletal specter surrounding her, red blade and round shield drawn, as her teeth were bared and her _Mangekyō Sharingan _glowed red. Secundum grinned evilly.

"Come."

Tésseris jumped to the side, narrowly dodging Kaede Nagase's oversized shuriken which had now been made ultra-dense and hard by channeling Earth chakra. The whirling blades cleaved through the bolder he'd been up against a half-second ago, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing in Kaede N.'s hand. In flash, Kaede Fuyō was beside him, _Yanagi no Mai _active, and she lunged forward in a series of dancing strikes with the long, thin, and nigh-unbreakable blades/spears of bone protruding from her joints and palms, necessitating some fancy footwork from Tésseris as he narrowly avoided one fatal blow after another. Now sporting several shallow cuts, he let out a pulse of Lightning magic from his body, sending Fuyō back a few meters.

Nagase leapt in again alongside two of her Shadow Clones, as Fuyō moved back and began charging chakra for something. The three exchanged blows with Tésseris, forcing him back, in the direction of Kaede F., and also working to wear him down. Finally, one of Kaede N.'s Shadow Clones pulled a 'Dancing Leaf Shadow', vanishing from Tésseris' sight only to reappear with a rising kick to the jaw that sent him flying up; at the same time, the original flash-jumped up, appearing directly above Tésseris with a _Rasengan _in hand. She slammed it down, striking him in the stomach and launching him straight down. Though heavily injured, he was still alive and conscious, and thus able to see as the other Kaede slammed her palms down onto the ground:

"_Sawarabi no Mai_!"

A series of tall, tightly-packed bone spikes jutted upward from the ground. Too injured to react, Tésseris was helpless to stop his body's rapid course directly toward them. He impacted them hard, the spikes punching through his body, piercing through his chest, torso, hips, upper arms, and one through his head and brain. The dead body slowly slid down the spikes, twitching slightly as it went. After a few seconds, Tésseris' corpse came apart, dispersing into particles of raw mana that were absorbed by the Earth. The two Kaedes walked up to each other and high-fived.

Their little celebration was cut short by an explosion around 100 meters away, as the battle against Secundum kicked up. A _Fulguratio Albicans _from Secundum had just been withstood by the round shield carried by Teana's skeletal _Susanō_, and now the 2-Tailed-Form Shion rushed the man. She led by thrusting her right hand forward, and her Chakra Shroud's right arm extended forward rapidly, the claws of heated green chakra racing toward the Averruncus. He flew straight up, dodging and weaving with the claw in hot pursuit, only for the claw to catch him around the ankle (burning the leg of his pants) and pull him down, slamming him into the hard, dry ground. When the dust cleared, he was standing back up, looking scuffed up but not seriously harmed.

"Impressive" he said. "Your power is strong, as is your conviction."

"Because I have something to look forward to after beating you" Shion responded.

"What? Revenge against an old woman who, for all you know, might already be dead from her own advanced age? Lanstar's vengeance might or might not be the only one that is unattainable. Or perhaps it's something else you fight for… or rather, some_one_… His name was Satoshi, was it? You live for a dead man? How quaint and cliché. Of course, even had he still been alive, your clan would have doubtlessly murdered him right before you as a 'lesson' to know your place."

At this, the _Jinchūriki_'s chakra flared violently, the ground trembling lightly. "_Don't you __**dare **__use his name____against me!-!_" Shion snarled, her voice deepening.

"And why not? The truth can hurt, but sometimes one must be cruel to be kind… as you well know, considering that one outburst against his sister that you now so deeply regret; it was a necessary step to set her on the path to independence from her brother's shadow. …You have a strong soul, girl. You've suffered more than your share in life; you have earned a time of peace in the Eternal Garden when the day of transcending comes. Though you wouldn't be alone; the people of _Mundus Magicus_ and of this world, your teammates, and once we salvage and steal your vessel, those of all the other worlds out there. All shall be welcome in the Eternal Garden! Perhaps, after sending you there, I shall seek out your world and send your beloved's soul there next. He and all your precious friends will join you in the Paradise Beyond."

The amount of chakra flowing out and through Shion intensified. An inhuman snarl built up in her throat, her slit-pupiled eyes glowing green, as a third tail formed from her Tailed-Beast Shroud. A whirl of burning wind built up around her, howling through the desert air and trembling the ground beneath her. A flood of her Killing Intent saturated the area, making even Teana pause and shudder at the feel of it.

"_You… will__** n**__o__**t h**__a__**rm Satoshi!-!**_" Shion's voice was almost unnaturally deep as the Five-Tailed Tiger's corruptive chakra overflowed within her. The ground beneath her cratered as her aura seethed. "_**No**__t hi__**m**__, a__**nd n**__ot __**anyo**__ne e__**lse**__!-__**!-!**_"

She flash-stepped forward, appearing directly in front of Secundum, who braced himself just as her claw-swipe hit, sending him hurtling through the air for a considerable distance. As she charged after him on all fours, he reoriented himself and conjured a _Gungnir _lightning-spear which he then threw. She responded with a chakra-amplified roar that completely stopped and wiped out the magical projectile, as she continued to rush at him. As she drew close, she threw out her right hand, the right arm of her Chakra Shroud shooting out, the hand/claw enlarging dramatically and then slamming downward, hammering Secundum into the tightly-packed earth. As the resulting dust cloud slowly faded, the giant hand-shaped crater was made visible… as was the silver-haired figure standing in its center, holding his arm and bearing a cut across his brow, along with his usual psychotic grin. Already his wounds were visibly repairing themselves.

"You don't have enough power to protect your Satoshi" Secundum said. "And you never will. Not against your clan… and not against me."

In response to this, the glow of Shion's eyes shifted from green to an all-encompassing red. As her canine teeth elongated further, something shifted by her back end, extending into existence: a fourth tail. Glowing green cracks appeared along her exposed flesh, her Charka Shroud darkening, and a positively inhuman growl came from her throat. Suddenly, within the space of a few seconds, she was completely hidden from sight by a dome of roiling black, red, and dark green. Teana, having dispelled her _Susanō _and regrouped with Nagase and Fuyō, were rushing toward the scene. Secundum stared, confused; this had not happened during any of his fellows' previous encounters with the girl.

There was a flare of daemonic chakra, and the transformative dome exploded violently, a powerful shockwave racing out in all directions. Secundum tried to brace himself against it, but failed and was sent tumbling. Teana and Nagase formed several Shadow Clones who served to brace the trio. When the shockwave had faded, they raced toward the area where dust swirled around something. As they broke through the wall of dust and dirt, their eyes widened in recognition and horror at what they saw. As Secundum, who was closer, got to his feet and regained himself, he beheld the being before him with his eyes and his sensing abilities and, for the first time in his life, felt a twinge of fear.

In the center of the crater, where Shion had been, there was now a vaguely humanoid creature, standing on all fours, its entire body covered by a swirling mass of blacks, reds, and dark greens. Four long, thin tails thrashed about, a mane of long, backward-facing spikes (the host's hair) clung to its back, the air surrounding the being flickered and warped with ambient heat, and its face was a black mask with glowing white eyes and a glowing mouth with jagged, triangular teeth, the canine teeth longer and larger than the rest. The beast that now used Shion's body as a skeleton reared up and let out a deafening roar, the air itself trembling.

"W…What is this?" Secundum muttered, his eyes wide.

"Uncontrolled Tailed-Beast State…" Teana whispered in horror. "Just like Naruto-kun… The 'Blood Shroud'… Shion…"

Secundum gathered himself. Flying upward, he let out a battle cry as he fired a massive barrage of _Sagitta Magica_. The storm of magical projectiles fizzled out harmlessly on contact with the 4-Tailed entity, nullified by its sheer, raw power. A _Dios Tukos _had similar results, barely catching the beast's attention. Secundum then threw a _Gungnir _Spear… and the thing-that-was-Shion caught the spear, its face showing its equivalent of a sadistic smirk. Its chakra channeled into the magical construct, overwriting and converting it into a black and dark-green spear with a jagged tip. The 4-Tailed beast then took position and threw it at Secundum at even greater than its original speed. Secundum could not completely dodge, and his left leg was severed below the knee, the cut-off flesh being cauterized by the heat of the daemonic chakra. He let out a brief scream, and then a feral snarl as he steeled himself.

"I am Averruncus!" he shouted. "I am Lord Lifemaker's perfect creation! I will not be defeated by a _Terran!_ _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!-!_"

He let loose a massive directed wave of Lightning and Wind magic, screaming through the air toward the transformed Shion. The lost-to-rage Host merely reared back and then let out a long, loud roar amplified by chakra, completely dispelling the attack as it smashed futilely against a barrier of wind, sound, and daemonic energy. As soon as that was done, the beast flash-stepped forward, appearing less than five feet directly in front of Secundum, and slashing at him with its claw. Secundum lurched backward, the claw-swipe burning across his chest. The beast then spun and whipped at him with its tails, which extended at the last second, catching him and sending him hurtling down into the ground once more. This time, however, Secundum could not pick himself back up in time to avoid being grasped and hoisted high by an enlarged, burning claw. He bit back a yell as his flesh was slowly burnt by the superheated dark chakra. The other claw came up, positioned pointing at the center of his chest… and his Core. His eyes widened in fear as the free claw's fingers took a pointed position.

"No… Please…!"

His plea went unanswered, as the claw was thrusted forward, into and through the center of his torso. He screamed out as the beast unleashed its chakra inside him, and in a matter of seconds, Averruncus Secundum had been completely burned to ashes, not even a single bone fragment left intact from the extreme heat that consumed him from the inside out. Victorious, the 4-tailed being let out a mighty roar…

…And then began to keel over, the transformation reverting, the Blood Shroud fading away. By the advanced healing factor of all _Jinchūriki_, Shion's burnt-away flesh re-grew so rapidly that she was whole again as her unconscious and completely exhausted body landed on the ground (apparently Naruto's hadn't done so the first time because the 9-Tails' chakra had been _forced _to recede by an external force rather than doing so on its own). Teana, Nagase, and Fuyō cautiously approached their KO'd friend. Kaede F. performed a basic medical diagnostic jutsu.

"She's exhausted both mentally and physically," she reported, "but otherwise unharmed. She'll probably be out for a couple of hours."

Kaede N. walked over, picking up the unconscious Shion in a bridal carry. "Let us return to the Academy" she said.

"_Hey Boss, can you hear me?_" Marie's voice came over Cross Mirage's comm. "_This is Gamma-4 to Gamma-1; what's the sitrep? Setsuna-san says she just picked up a flare of daemon chakra in Australia from clear over here in Eastern Europe._"

"We're here, Marie" Teana replied. "Averruncus Secundum and Tonans Tésseris have been… disposed of. How did things go on your end?"

"_Atur Nii is dead_" Setsuna said over the comm. "_Still no word yet on Ahsoka-san's team in Hokkaido, except for a brief confirmation that they're fighting a mage whose description matches that of Volturna Septendecim_."

"_Bio-scans show they're all still alive, though_" Marie added.

"Our group's pretty much out of commission for the rest of the day" Teana said as a waiting Phantom dropship flew in. "We're heading back to the Academy. You?"

"_Already on a Spirit back_" Marie replied. "_We're passing over western Russia now. See ya at Mahora, Boss._"

"Solid copy, Four" Teana said as she, Fuyō, and Nagase, who was carrying the unconscious Shion, were lifted up by the Phantom's gravity lift. "One out."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Hokkaido**

The battle here was well underway. Blasts and blades of ice from Septendecim chilled the air, her attempts to kill Asuna and Ahsoka proving unsuccessful so far. They were wearing her down, chipping away at her defenses while getting her to slowly but surely use up her reserves of energy. Already Ahsoka could notice a slight change in Septendecim's reaction time, oh-so-slightly slower than it was at the start of the fight. Asuna swung her greatsword, launching from it a slicing wave of ki/chakra that left a deep gash in the ice shield Septendecim conjured to block it. A tightly-focused, long-range Force Push from Ahsoka – she'd taken to calling it the "Force Shot", as it was more like an invisible projectile than a wall of telekinetic force – shattered the weakened shield, leaving the living construct vulnerable as Asuna blitzed in with a right straight punch that rocked her head back, and in a flash of light Asuna activated Nihilus' old lightsaber – now with a blue blade – and bashed Septendecim in the head with the hilt, followed by a swing of the blade that severed her left arm just below the shoulder.

Septendecim disappeared in a whirl of water, reappearing several meters away, right hand clutching at the smoldering stump where her left arm had been a few seconds ago. She growled as water flowed down and around the appendage, extending down and then solidifying into a spike/blade of ice. With her remaining hand, she called forth several large skewers of ice, launching them at both of the other girls. Asuna swung her greatsword, nullifying the ones heading for her, while a Force Repulse shockwave from Ahsoka shattered the ones aimed for her. Ahsoka then rushed in, leading with four Lightning Hounds that attacked from different angles, keeping Septendecim off-balance as the Jedi closed in. The ice-user supercharged her frozen blade with magical power, allowing her to match blades with the other girl's lightsabers without having her own be cleaved through instantly, while another Ice Shield formed over her right hand and forearm.

Nonetheless, the difference in skill and stamina was soon quite apparent, Ahsoka continuously forcing Septendecim back, battering her defenses and tiring her out while blocking and parrying her attempts to counter. Septendecim had to devote every bit of her remaining focus just to staying alive against the Togrutan… which left her completely unprepared when Asuna's lightsaber stabbed her from behind, the tip emerging through her chest, the blade of super-high-energy subatomic particles having pierced her heart and her Core. Septendecim gave a strangled gasp, and her body began to fade away, breaking apart into raw mana to be absorbed by the planet.

"Not bad" Ahsoka said to Asuna as both girls deactivated their weapons. "A little sloppy, but you did well for someone who's only been training with that thing in Eva's Resort for about ten days. Maybe some of Nihilus' skills were left behind when we kicked him out of you."

"That would explain why it feels at least partly instinctual" Asuna replied, as a UH-144 'Falcon' landed nearby. The girls climbed aboard, and the craft lifted off, heading south to return to Mahora Academy.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**


	25. Harbinger

Only 2-5 chapters left, and then we'll FINALLY be able to move on to Book 6.

Both mysterious hooded figures in this chapter are "voiced" by Nana Mizuki.

Chapter may be a little short, because IMO these two developments are better without ending with part of the next mini-plotline.

Note Below: I'll try bullet-pointing the disclaimers right here. Let's see if that somehow makes them completely disappear once uploaded to the site, like multiple dashes (- a.k.a. - - - - without spaces in-between) or exclamation points immediately after question marks without a dash ("You _what_?" versus "You _what_?-!"); if it does, I'll know not to do it again.

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS

KINGDOM HEARTS IS THE PROPERTY OF SQUARE-ENIX: I AM NOT SE, AND THUS DO NOT OWN IT

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Later in the evening of last chapter's day**

After everyone returned to Mahora, they reported in the progress they'd all made. Three members of _Cosmo Entelecheia_ – including one of the original Averruncus – dead, with no serious injuries amongst any of the attack teams, made for a stellar success. Shion, however, was somewhat shaken, having little to no memory of anything after her fourth chakra-tail formed against Secundum. The revelation that she'd succumbed to the same dark transformation as Naruto scared her, as she knew it'd likely been pure chance that the monster she'd taken the form of hadn't harmed Teana or either of the Kaedes.

Though she did not in any way regret brutally killing Secundum for what he'd said. In fact, she sorta wished she remembered actually doing it.

At the moment, Teana was going over what data they had on the remaining CE members with Arum and Kilkar, seeing if the veteran warriors had any insight or ideas she might miss. Shion was trying to balance usual meditation techniques taught to her by Ulan with frequent snacking to replenish her expended chakra. Kaede and Marie were… occupied. Mai was helping Chizuru with something. And Ahsoka…

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Negi sat on the rather large guest bed that the Headmaster had provided him with, this otherwise-empty room that he'd chosen so his late-night studying of various data didn't disturb Asuna's sleep (granted, it was only 8:30 PM, but Asuna wanted to go to bed early after today's events, while Konoka was out doing… something… with Setsuna). He was clad in a loose buttoned shirt and boxer shorts, finishing up his perusing of a datapad containing tactical insights made by Col. Holland and his XOs regarding some of the fights against _Cosmo Entelecheia_. He was interrupted by three girls entering the room, closing the door behind them.

"Negi-sensei…" Nodoka said, Yue and Ahsoka flanking her, all three girls looking rather nervous. "C-Can we talk?"

Negi nodded, turning off the datapad and putting it on the nearby nightstand. "What do you need, girls?" he asked, a shy smile on his face as he remembered that all three of them had feelings for him.

"We been thinking," Yue said, "and we've realized that though things are going well at the moment, it most definitely won't stay that way. As we continue to keep cutting down members of _Cosmo Entelecheia_, the remaining ones will grow steadily more desperate. In addition, they still have Dynamis and Primum, two of the most powerful, still alive. Not to mention, we'll eventually have to face the Lifemaker himself."

"The point is," Ahsoka continued, "the odds are that some of us won't survive the coming storm. If there's anything that any of us want to do, it's pretty much now or never." At this point, her nervousness visibly increased, averting her eyes as her cheeks flushed. "S-So for that reason, we three came here… t-to…"

"We came here tonight to… _be _with you… Negi…" Nodoka finished.

Negi looked confused. "You want to… keep me company?" he asked, his confused tone showing that he meant no double entendre in his question.

"Sensei…" Yue replied, her even tone wavering, "What we mean is that we… w-wish to take this chance, which could end up being the _only _chance, to be…" she swallowed nervously "i-intimate with you…"

At this, Negi finally got what they were trying to say, his eyes nearly bugging out as his face quickly changed colors to match his hair. He stammered, unable to talk for several seconds as he looked at the trio of blushing young girls who were giving him identical looks that made _something _stir in his chest.

"I s-see…" he finally managed to say, trying to sound calm only for his voice to sort-of squeak, giving him away. "Ah… Um… A-All three of you?"

"Yes" the trio of girls said in unison.

"T-Tonight?"

"Yes"

"A-At the s-same time?" his voice was a half-whimpered whisper, his eyes wide and his face cherry-red.

"Yes"

Negi swallowed loudly. His whole body felt hot, and he felt something stirring by his stomach. In the few times his mind ever wandered to… _those _types of thoughts, he'd never imagined his 'first' would be like _this_.

"B-But what if…" he stammered out. "A-According to a med-scan, I'm now capable of… 'f-firing my cannon', so to speak, despite that physically I'm still a few months shy of 12. What if I get any of you…"

"I found a contraception spell in my book" Yue replied, fidgeting. "I… already cast it on myself and Nodoka."

"And since I'm a different species from you," Ahsoka added, "I don't have to worry about that; you & I couldn't have a kid without some genetic manipulation science-y stuff."

Negi wrestled with some inner turmoil. His shyness and uncertainty were steadily losing ground, his desires overtaking them, though not without suppressing rational thought in the process… since his rational mind was _agreeing_ with the girls' reasoning. Negi swore he could almost hear a little voice inside him going "Do it. DOOOOO EEEEEEET.", and one more glance at the girls' faces solidified his decision. He scooted back on the bed, sitting toward the other end, and his still-blushing face gave a shy smile and a look to the girls that implore them to come on over. As the girls broke into smiles of their own, they walked over and climbed up. When Nodoka kissed him while Yue and Ahsoka started undoing the buttons on his shirt, with Yue's other hand reaching around and grabbing Nodoka's chest while Ahsoka's free hand went lower, the boy realized he was in for quite a night.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Next Day – Mid-Afternoon**

Teana leapt up the side of the rocks, landing atop the granite plateau; Negi followed close behind. Overhead and about 1,500 meters distant, the _Starshot _hovered around 100 meters off the ground, keeping a mountain between it and Mahora Academy so as to remain hidden from view. There had been word from the _Starshot _of unidentifiable demon-type insurgencies around here, which always disappeared by the time any teams could get down here from the ship. She and Negi were here now to see if they could find anything.

Teana had quickly noticed the spring in Negi's step today, and how a near-goofy grin was frequently on his face. When she'd queried him this morning, he'd blushed, smiled, and said something about "bonding with a few of his _Ministrae_". The sly smirk she'd made at him in response, combined with his reaction to it, told her all she needed to know.

"Anything yet, lover-boy?" she shouted back over her shoulder at Negi, whose concentration on his scanning spell wavered at the teasing remark.

"N-Nothing yet, Teana-san" he replied. "There's been a lot of dimensional transferring here, that's for sure; either one big 'something', or – more likely – several smaller 'somethings'. Whatever they are, I think they might be trying to scout us out."

"Any connection to the Lifemaker or his organization?"

"No. The energy signature is totally different. It's gotta be some independent third party, sending recon to check on us, maybe probe our defenses."

"Maybe we could do it to them in return? I mean, since you've got experience in probing now…"

It took Negi a few seconds to get it, and when he did he shot Teana a dirty look, but his attempt to look intimidating and mad came off as cute, causing the girl to burst out giggling.

"You're not gonna stop, are you?" Negi asked in a flat tone.

Teana got her giggles under control. "Probably not for the rest of the day, nope. Judging by the… state… Ahsoka was in when I saw her this morning, it must've been _good_. She had the biggest delirious grin on her face and muttered something about you and 'amazing stamina', hm? And she & Nodoka were even more buddy-buddy than usual, too." She sighed. "I think I'm jealous, just a little… You're really damned lucky, Negi-kun, to have so many people that care for you so deeply."

Negi smiled wistfully through his blush as he walked up to her, meeting her eyes. "Those girls… No, _all _of you – everyone in the class, you & your team, and everyone else I've met along the way – are the best thing to ever happen to me."

Teana gave a warm smile in return. "Thanks, kid. That means a lot to all of us, I assure you." She pulled him into a one-armed platonic hug (though he found it a little difficult to think of it as 'platonic' considering that his face ended up between her breasts, as usual for whenever a girl or woman hugged him). She let go after several seconds, and petted his head. Suddenly, her body stiffened, and her expression hardened.

"Do you feel that?" she said, her voice sharp and serious.

"…Yeah, I do" Negi replied, his body tightening and his senses going on high alert. "It feels… unnatural. In a different way than the Lifemaker or any of those demons that attack the Academy's borders from time to time. It's definitely Darkness energy, though."

It was then that a Barrier Field manifested, sending the two out of phase from baseline reality. It encompassed the plateau, dimming and muting the sunlight (which was already dimmed by cloud cover). Halfway across the plateau from them, a dark swirling portal opened, and through it stepped through a figure wearing a black cloak that completely obscured their features from view. The figure was around an inch over five feet tall.

"Who or what are you?" Teana said, hands gripping the presently-inactive hilt of Mirage Longsword as her Barrier Jacket formed.

"My Master has noticed you, Lanstar" the figure replied in a not-quite-mature female voice, her tone somehow both cold and a little smug. "Being one of his three seconds-in-command, I volunteered to come and see if either of you could become enough of a threat to warrant watching. Namely, if you somehow survive against me, you'll be considered a threat to be watched out for."

"And your Master would be…?" Negi asked, his body already channeling magic.

"I'm not telling. You won't find out unless he deigns to make himself known to you directly."

With that, she held out her hands, and in them appeared two identical weapons, one in each hand. She grabbed hold of the hilts, lowering her arms to a relaxed position and letting the tips of the blades rest on the ground. Negi stared at them.

"…Keys?" he muttered.

Indeed, the weapons looked like giant keys. The handguards were a deep purple, with the blades and hilts pitch-black, the teeth of each key (which looked _way _too sharp for any key, regardless of size) forming the outline of the top of a heart. A thin gold ring formed the connection between each blade and guard, with another capping the bottoms of the weapon.

"Now…"

(BOSS MUSIC: _Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep _– "Dark Impetus")

The mysterious armored girl's power flared to life, the ground trembling as a huge aura of red and violet surged around her. Teana snapped both Mirage Longswords to life, she and Negi bracing themselves as they sensed just how much power this girl was letting out. The mysterious figure took a fighting stance, her blades ready.

"…let's shed some blood!"

With that, she charged, launching forward at great speed, straight towards the duo. Even with her own enhanced reaction time, Teana barely managed to bring her swords to bear to block the figure's opening strike, stopping the edge of one blade mere centimeters from splitting her head down the middle. The cloaked figure immediately flew into a flowing, high-speed barrage of attacks that Teana put her all into parrying and blocking, soon getting up to speed enough to launch her own attacks, which were also blocked or dodged by the mysterious enemy. The figure suddenly broke off her blitz against Teana to block a kick from Negi that sent her hurtling through the air several meters, skidding to a stop on her feet. She growled and pointed one of her dark key-blades at Negi, firing from its tip a barrage of Darkness-type projectiles. Negi responded with a quick burst of intense, swirling wind around himself that deflected the blasts. He was then enveloped in a dark aura as he activated his _Magia Erebea_, taking the technique's basic form. He pulled out his staff and channeled Lightning magic into it, forming a weapon that was a mixture of spear and sword. The cloaked girl rushed at him, temporarily dispelling one of her Dark Keyblades so as to put both hands into striking down with the other, which now crackled with black lightning-type energy. Negi raised his own weapon to block, and then displayed surprising skill in blocking her ensuing attacks, displaying respectable swordsmanship, thanks to Teana's training.

In terms of training methods, Nanoha Takamachi and Evangeline McDowell were on opposite spectrums. Takamachi chose the "slow and steady" method, carefully training people in their respective specialties and then helping them round out, deliberately staying well back from the person's limits. Evangeline, in contrast, chose the "train until they're in agony and barely conscious, and then heal them up" route, essentially hurling them flailing & screaming over their limits; it worked damn well, but only because Konoka was there to patch them up afterwards. Teana, meanwhile, took a middle ground in terms of training others. After the disastrous damage that applying Evangeline's method to herself without the benefit of an SS-rank healer caused her, she adjusted her approach. Now, she would closely monitor those she trained, pushing them to the _very knife's-edge _of safety, their very limits… but not one step beyond, under _any _circumstances. This achieved the comprehension and lack of serious harm that Takamachi's teaching style granted, combined with the "push past your previous limits and become better than you were yesterday" style of Evangeline.

As a result of this training, the girls of Gamma Team, along with any Ala Alba members who trained with them, developed at a rather quick rate. This was how, despite now knowing how to use a sword at all a few months ago, Negi was now able to keep up with the skilled black-cloaked figure currently trying and failing to break or circumvent his defenses, and even launching counterstrikes that kept her pressed to block and parry. Eventually, though, she called back her second Keyblade, and the frequency of her attacks went up accordingly, pushing Negi into a corner; thanks to Teana, he'd gotten good, but not _that _good. Fortunately, his aforementioned instructor came to his rescue, Mirage Longsword swinging at the cloaked figure's neck, forcing her to divert one of her Keyblades to block. Negi responded by quickly channeling a Light-style _Sagitta Magica _into his right fist, which he then plowed into his foe's gut, releasing the attack on contact. The figure grunted in pain and leapt back away from the two, clutching her stomach. However, the blow had failed to do serious harm, managing only to make her angry.

She pointed her Keyblades at them, firing from them a barrage of Darkness projectiles, but these were homing bolts, as shown when Teana & Negi dodged to either side only for the cluster to split in two and fly at them both. Teana countered with Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_, using her Sharingan to track and aim at each dark bolt chasing her, while Negi simply brute-forced his way through the issue, unleashing a wave of Light magic that cancelled out the bolts chasing him. He then formed a sequence of hand-seals, unleashing a pair of Lightning Hounds at the cloaked figure, while Teana let loose with _Fūton: Shinkū Renpa_, several slicing blades of wind/vacuum in rapid succession. The cloaked girl let loose a wave of black lightning that overpowered Negi's Lightning Hounds, and when the vacuum blades drew near she flash-stepped out of the way, reappearing behind and above Negi, blades poised to strike him down. She swung… and a _third _Keyblade, wielded by a _second _black-cloaked figure from out of nowhere, blocked her strikes.

As the evil cloak-wearer leapt away, Teana and Negi saw the subtle differences. This new figure was shorter, around 4'10", and around the neck hung a necklace of sorts in the shape of a ridged white cross whose bottom was the upside-down top half of a heart. This figure only had one Keyblade, and it looked quite different from the evil-looking things the first figure had; it had a pale-gold shaft, an orange hilt with a hexagonal blue-black handguard, the head/teeth of the blade looked like a ridged cross that overlapped perpendicular with a long spike, and a keychain attached to the base of the weapon let to a blue-black triangle. Lastly, both of the heroes could sense that while this new figure's energy signature felt… incomplete somehow, it did not have the corrosive, smothering corruption that the belligerent's did.

"What are _you _doing here?" the evil cloaked girl said, a gust of wind ruffling her hood, revealing within it the briefest glimpse of jet-black hair and cold golden-yellow eyes to Teana & Negi.

"Helping them" the new addition replied, the lock of her blonde hair and piercing red eyes quickly obscured from sight as the wind gust died down. Her voice was quite similar to the darkness-using girl's, only at a higher tone that suggested lesser age, along with a lack of the malice and arrogance present in the evil girl's voice.

"Then you die with them. And this time, since we're not in that realm which that woman either won't or can't leave, she won't be jumping in to interfere."

With that, the enemy rushed forward toward the newcomer… only to feint and go for Teana instead, the redhead's _Sharingan _and Spartan reflexes combining to just barely give her enough time to bring up a block. Teana immediately non-verbally conjured a barrage of Crossfire Shots, floating behind her, and fired them nearly point-blank at the dark figure, who took three or four hits before flash-stepping away and casting a shimmering violet barrier that blocked the rest. In response, the allied cloaked-figure threw her Keyblade at high speed like a boomerang. The weapon glowed brightly with power, and crashed through the enemy figure's barrier, cutting across her chest (doing magical/ethereal damage that left no marks on her physical body) and then teleporting back to its owner's hand in a flash of light. Teana took the opportunity, firing a _Katon: Gōkakyū _at the enemy that she barely leapt out of the way of. The dark figure vanished from sight, and a few seconds later the cloaked ally barely avoided being struck down by a rising attack from underground behind her. She leapt away, pointing the tip of her Keyblade at the enemy:

"Prism Rain"

From the weapon's tip fired a salvo of rainbow-colored spheres of magic, swirling through the air and homing in on their target. The dark figure took to motion, trying to outrun the projectiles, lashing out with her Keyblades to bat away any that got too close. Two more salvos followed, and the mysterious enemy countered with her own barrages of black-magic bolts, cancelling out some while others were batted away by her blades of stopped by quick-conjured shields. Lastly, a few got through, hitting her in the upper back, though not doing much. Suitably angry now, the dark figure unleashed a torrent of black lightning at Teana and the newcomer, both of whom brought their blades up and focused Shield Spells through them to block the attack. After several seconds, the black lightning was dispelled as a pulse of magic and a flash of white lightning signified Negi using his _Magia Erebea _to absorb a _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens_, transferring to his _Agilitas Fulminis _form, his body wreathed in glowing white Lightning-type energy.

He moved, and in an instant he was in the face of the hostile cloaked figure, lashing out with a crackling punch that she countered with her own lightning-enhanced blow, black and purple lightning now arcing around and across her body. There was a quiet (compared to the real thing) thunderclap as their blows met, followed by several more in rapid succession as the dark figure moved with surprising speed to match Negi's following blows. She then barely avoided a point-blank shotgun-burst of Lightning-type _Sagitta Magica_ to the chest, flipping away from Negi and attacking Teana again. Blurs of red-orange accompanied the twin blades of Mirage Longsword moving at speed in Teana's hands as she blocked and countered against the dark figure's own paired weapons. The two seemed evenly matched, neither able to break through or get past the other's defenses. An attack from the friendly cloaked figure forced the enemy figure to break off, flash-stepping back and then unleashing another barrage of Darkness-type magic bolts, this time targeted at the friendly figure. These were promptly blown off-course as Negi let loose his stored spell, blasting the projectiles away.

The allied figure went on the attack, exchanging blows with the enemy figure, the fight showing that both combatants were familiar with each other's styles; no doubt they had fought each other before. There was a bright flash of light that announced Negi taking his _Raiten Taisō _form, and then with a thunderclap he moved in, dealing a punishing blow to the enemy figure, stopping her from slicing a gash across their cloaked ally's stomach. The dark figure rolled to a stop several meters away, and failed to react quickly enough to block Negi's next 150,000-kilometer-per-second blow… or the next six blows, for that matter. Growling, she flared her aura just in time to repulse Negi's next charge like a shockwave, the lightning-form boy skidding to a stop a little ways away. It was then that a red-orange light flared as a skeletal form emerged around Teana, holding a serrated sword and a round shield. The dark figure steeled herself, only for a deep, echoing voice to speak telepathically across the battlefield.

"_**That is enough for now, my faithful second**_" it said. "_**At your current level, you cannot prevail against a master of Magia Erebea and a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder at the same time.**_"

"But, Master…"

"_**Fall back, Ruin. That is my order. You are too valuable asset for me to lose at this time.**_"

"…Yes, Master" the girl now known to be named Ruin replied, frustration evident in her voice as her surging aura settled down and dispelled. She looked to the trio. "We'll finish this another day" she said, as a dark portal appeared behind her, which she stepped backward into, the rift closing itself after her. The barrier field surrounding the plateau faded, returning the trio to the normal realm. The remaining cloaked figure looked to Teana & Negi as they dispelled their powers and returned to normal, both of them panting lightly from spent energy. She gave them a small smile and a nod, and then stepped through another whirling portal, vanishing.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**An hour later**

"Man, what happened to you, Boss?" Marie asked. "You look bushed."

"We encountered a new foe" Teana replied. "One completely unrelated to the Lifemaker. She fought me, Negi, and a third person wearing a similar identity-concealing black cloak who was helping us. They had these weird weapons, like giant keys. The enemy ended up being called away by some evil-sounding, ultra-deep telepathic voice; called her 'Ruin'. Anyway, I'm beat; I'm gonna go sit down for a while."

Marie, Ako, Chisame, Yūna, and Chizuru all widened their eyes and looked at Teana as she retreated to the lounge room to rest from the fight.

"K-Keyblades?" Yūna muttered.

"Another player enters the game" Chizuru whispered.

"You don't think it's… _him_, do you?" Marie asked.

"Somehow I don't think Xehanort's voice qualifies as 'ultra-deep'," Ako replied, "and as far as I remember none of the games had a character named Ruin."

"Curioser and curioser…" Chisame said.

Meanwhile, Negi had inadvertently stumbled upon Nodoka, Yue, and Ahsoka all sitting on a couch together. They and he exchanged shy smiles, and Nodoka & Ahsoka scooted over a bit to allow Negi to squeeze in-between them for a seat, whereupon Ahsoka draped her arm over his shoulders while Nodoka rested a hand on his thigh, Yue leaning her head against Nodoka's shoulder. Suddenly, the quartet felt as a new pair of arms wrapped around them from behind.

"Okay, you four…" Haruna said with her usual grin. "Last night. I want _details~_…"

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

And so we have a glimpse at a future threat set to appear farther down the line in the _Teana's Travels_ series.


	26. Istanbul

FORGOT TO MENTION AT END OF LAST CHAPTER: The mysterious ally's Keyblade was "Midnight Roar", from _KH 358/2 Days_; the enemy's twin Keyblades were slightly-different-color versions of Xehanort-Riku's Dark Keyblade from _KH1_.

Now that "Blue Blur in Equestria" is finished, this will be the only work I'll be working on for the time being, which should decrease the time between posts. …However, July 14th is my birthday, and I'll likely get a few games that will eat up some time, not to mention I'm in the middle of a _Birth by Sleep _playthrough in preparation for the release of _KH3D _on the 31st (which is the reason why a 3DS is at the tip-top of my b-day list). _And _I'm still working on a big project that's eating up some time.

The bottom line is: don't expect "new chapter every 2-4 days" any time soon. Sorry.

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Istanbul, Turkey**

**LOCAL TIME: 19:55 Hours**

The UH-144 'Falcon' touched down, a single passenger hopping out, and the craft then took off again, looking to find an out-of-the-way place to set it down. Kaede Nagase looked around, loosely gripping the tattered cloak hanging off her neck and shoulders. She roof-hopped through the city, her shinobi training enabling her to avoid detection. She headed straight for the location she'd been informed of: a subterranean complex that had been enchanted to be unnoticeable to the local mundanes. Soon, she arrived undetected, heading down. In contrast to the bustling city above, this place was completely deserted; a tunnel stretched out into the distance with some branching paths, and torches mounted on the wall magically lit themselves upon detecting her presence. With a flourish, Kaede swung her cloak/cape back… and out of it came several people. Negi, Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, the Library Trio, and the six girls of Gamma Team emerged, all landing on their feet.

"So there's supposed to be something important down here?" Kaede Fuyō asked.

"Yeah, grandpa said he picked something up in this old installation" Konoka replied. "Whatever it is, it has powerful sealing magic on it."

"And it's _not _something that Ala Rubra put there" Setsuna said.

"We have no idea what it is, though," Negi said, "so be prepared for anything."

Teana activated Cross Mirage's seismic scan function, and soon the group had a detailed 3D map of the tunnels. With that, they set off down the path, taking detours and turns as necessary to reach the innermost chamber a ways ahead. Halfway there, they came across a wide junction chamber. In it, a group of Dynamis' shadow-demon summons was engaged in combat against a trio of steel and stone golems wielding simple-looking shields and swords. By all appearances, the golems were winning easily, proving to be stronger, tougher, and more intelligent. A few shots from the new arrivals caught the remaining summons off-guard, quickly clearing them out. The golems slowly approached the Mahora group, who took defensive positions. Suddenly, the lead golem scanned Negi, and then a few seconds later all three of them backed off, standing to the side of the next doorway.

"Maybe they recognize you as your father's progeny" Haruna wondered.

"But father's never been down here" Negi replied. "That can't be it."

"We'll figure it out later" Teana said. "If Dynamis' summons are around, we've gotta get moving and retrieve whatever's in here before he shows up."

The group continued on, Teana and Setsuna taking point, the former wielding Mirage Shotgun and the latter with two of her Artifact's daggers drawn. Thankfully, however, they remained unmolested by any further hostiles; apparently, the golems were guarding the only way in. About five minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination: a massive, high-ceiling chamber with an elaborate altar built around a huge blue crystal. Visible within the crystal was the outline of a person.

"It's a woman" Ahsoka said after she placed her hand on the crystal. "And she's still alive."

"Could she be an enemy?" Shion asked.

"She's strong in the Light. It's doubtful that she's against us."

"If she is, we'll deal with her" Asuna said. "And if she isn't, we'll have another ally."

"Analysis shows that the seal is rather complex" Charon reported. "It will take some time to release."

Konoka, Ahsoka, Yue, and Asuna took position around the crystal, Konoka starting and leading the unsealing process. A complex magical rune sprang up beneath them, with the crystal at the center. Suddenly, there was an echoing howl. Lured by and homing in on the unsealing spell, a horde of Dynamis' summons appeared from the ground, surrounding the group. A blur of motion and a loud bang signified the first and second moves being made – one of the demons lunging forward, only to be blown away by a blast from Mirage Shotgun. In a single spin, Teana then cracked another summon's head with the butt of the weapon, then transformed her Device into double Longsword Mode, two red-orange blades of energy bisecting three more summons. Light Beam shots from Charon accompanied Marie's entry into the fight, blasting and burning through the creatures of darkness. Shion switched her arm-mounted multi weapon to "plasma repeater" mode, full-auto bursts of superheated plasma doing surprisingly well against the oncoming horde of cannon fodder.

After around a minute of bottom-tier enemies, larger & stronger ones began to appear. In response, Shion switched over to her Templar Blade, while everyone else (except the four working on the seal) decided to join the fight as well (having been conserving themselves rather than waste time & effort on bottom-rung foes). Haruna brought out two combat golems she created based on those that had been guarding the entrance, the constructs wading into the approaching enemies with swords swinging. Mai drew a plasma sword, the twin-pronged blade burning/slicing through the shadow-demons that got too close. Kaede F. was using some basic Earth and Lightning jutsu to help clear the field, while Negi was firing _Sagitta Magica _here & there. Teana, Mai, and Setsuna had become the defense for the unsealing team, cutting down anything that got close.

The amount of higher-tier enemies slowly but steadily increased. A large, gargoyle-like shadow-summon took a fireball to the face from Teana, and was then subjected to a rising sword strike from her that bisected its head. Marie ejected a cartridge from Charon and fired a Darkburst that sucked in several smaller enemies and two medium-sized ones, while well-placed kunai from Kaede N. continued to cull the enemy's numbers. Nodoka was showing surprising skill with the Sangheili Type-31 Needle Rifle she'd taken along for this mission, several shadow-summons going down with pink crystalline needles through their skulls, or being blown apart in pinkish explosions. Shion briefly switched her arm device to "plasma launcher" mode long enough to take down two bigger summons, then went right back to slicing the smaller ones in two with the energy blade. Negi was deliberately holding back to provide himself a challenge, using just enough skill and power to take the summons down without risking getting hurt.

"Not much longer! …I think!" Asuna shouted, as she and the other three continued to undo the seal.

Another cartridge was expended from Charon as an Ice Spreader was fired, freezing solid four summons that were then shattered by a quartet of seeker-type concussion missiles. Haruna had drawn up a pair of auto-turrets to help defend the unseal team, while the two Kaedes had switched with Teana & Mai for guard duty (Setsuna refused to leave Konoka's side, as usual), allowing Gamma 1 & 5 to enter the fray again. Water and Lightning techniques from Mai cut through the ranks of lower-tier enemies, while Teana's blades and Wind & Fire attacks handled bigger ones. A "psionic"/Force push from Shion knocked a 10-footer over onto a pack of smaller summons, crushing them; a plasma grenade thrown by Haruna then took the big one out. Setsuna took advantage of a section of the room with lots of enemies and no allies by unleashing a _Raimeiken _in that direction, the lightning-element attack wiping out nearly two-dozen summons.

Just as a new wave of enemies spawned in, light began pouring from within the crystal prison. Cracks raced along the crystal's surface, forming intricate and orderly patterns as the complex seal came undone nearly eight years after its creation. There was a flash of brilliant blue light and a pulse of power as the crystal shattered, the pulse dispelling each & every summon in the room, leaving it suddenly quiet. The woman slowly floated to the ground, the blue glow fading to reveal her to all. There were gasps of shock, a few whispers, and one preteen boy standing stock-still, eyes wide as can be.

She slowly opened her eyes, and for a second she thought Nagi was there in front of her, staring. But then she quickly noticed that the figure before her was too small, too young, to be Nagi. She looked at the whorl of emotions visible in the boy's eyes, eyes that showed maturity and pain far beyond the child's years. After several seconds, everything clicked, and she felt her own storm of emotions as she realized exactly who she was looking at – someone she hadn't seen since he was 26 months old.

"Negi…?"

"M… Mom?"

On legs slightly shaky from years of misuse, Arika slowly walked forward, toward her son. At the same time, Negi slowly shuffled forward, unshed tears forming in his eyes. Finally, they met in the middle, and embraced each other, hugging as closely and tightly as they could. His face was buried in her shoulder and the crook of her neck, and as she wrapped one arm around his back and place her other hand on the back of his head, she felt him crying… just as she herself was. For the moment, neither of them paid any attention to anything in the world besides each other.

"My boy…" she whispered tearfully. "My sweet little baby boy… You've gotten so big. I… I've missed the chance to see you grow up. I wish… that your father and I could've been there… to celebrate your birthdays, to teach you things, to guide you through the normal childhood things…"

"W-Why were you sealed away, mama?" Negi's muffled voice came up, for once sounding like the kid he was.

"When you had just turned two, your father disappeared. I heard his telepathic call for help, but by the time I got there he was gone. I could sense that he had not been killed, but… he was still gone. On my way back to you, I was ambushed by someone… or some_thing_. The last thing I remember is being told that if I weren't put into stasis, something terrible could escape its bounds. …How old are you now, Negi?"

"It d-depends" the boy answered. "Chronologically, I'm 10 years old, but I've spent a fair amount of time in a special training chamber where every 24 hours equals one hour in the outside world. Physically, I'm around 11."

"Did you… ever find out what happened to your father?"

Negi seized up and let out another cry. "Yes… Dad is… being used as a host body for the Lifemaker; it possessed him. Now the Lifemaker's moving about the planet, gathering energy or something."

At this, Arika went pale. The Lifemaker was still around, and had body-jacked her husband!

"The others can… f-fill you in on details in a while" Negi said. "Right now, I… I just wanna stay like this for a little longer."

In response, Arika pulled Negi close, stroking his hair. She'd missed so much, both good and bad.

"The poor kid never had a chance for a normal life, actually" said a voice of a girl currently behind Arika, out of her field of view. "When Negi was four, _your _old enemies, the Megalomesembrian Senate, found out about Negi and sent a humongous horde of demons to attack the village he was living in. Out of over 600 people, only three survived, Negi among them. And they only survived because an avatar of Nagi-san appeared and saved them. The trauma from that night has been Negi's driving force ever since. He forced himself to grow up way too fast, threw himself into study, and became one of the most promising mages to ever live, at the cost of losing his childhood and never again being able to feel fully at peace. He always feels like he has to constantly be on alert on some level, just in case. And he's pathologically terrified of other people getting hurt for his sake. And he's always pushing himself dangerously hard in training."

Arika felt a fresh wave of guilt at this. Even after all she & Nagi had done, the Senate had _still _found out, and had still done their best to kill Negi – an innocent four-year-old child! – all to get back at her. And though they'd failed to do that, they'd still managed to deal devastating damage to the boy's life and worldview.

"I've known Negi-kun for about half a year now" Kaede Nagase said as she walked up. "Right now, this is the first time I've _ever _seen him let down his guard and act as young as he actually is."

"Excluding that childish hatred of baths he used to have until we got him used to the shower" grumbled the girl behind Arika.

"He got that and his looks from his father" Arika replied wistfully.

"And from what we've seen in recordings from the Great War," Setsuna said, "he got his intelligence and personality from you."

"So I assume that means he is, as Nagi liked to call me back before I 'mellowed' a little, an 'over-thinking, overly serious, pessimistic, overreacting worrywart'?"

"Yes" many girls responded in unison. Even in his current state, Negi managed an annoyed groan.

"And what's more," the girl behind Arika said, "he used to get in _way _over his head because he was so afraid of asking for help, because he didn't want others to get hurt or inconvenienced while helping him. We strong-armed our way in and helped him anyway, whether he liked it or not. Nowadays, he's a _bit _better at accepting help, and he's become so freakishly powerful that he rarely needs help to begin with when it comes to fights."

"Negi-kun has Nagi-san's butt-kicking skills and your diplomatic ones" Mai said. "He recently defeated an Averruncus, and then convinced him to switch sides."

"What?-!" Arika couldn't stop herself from shouting, causing Negi to jump a little in her arms from the startle.

"It was Tertium" Setsuna said. "Though he _hates _that name, and prefers to be called 'Fate'. He's also one of the more powerful of them, as well as one of the most adaptive and with the most connections, so having him on our side is a considerable asset."

"That fire-girl _Ministra _of his is still a bitch, though" Marie said. "The other four are nicer."

It was then that Asuna chose to walk into Arika's field of vision, causing the woman's eyes to widen in shocked recognition. The girl had been a small, emotionless, never-aging five-year-old for over 130 years. Now she was an athletic, plucky and sarcastic 15-year-old. Arika tried to pose an articulate query.

"Uh… Buh?"

She failed.

"I both am and am not the Asuna you knew" Asuna said to Arika. "When Gateau-san… died in battle… he had Takamichi-san seal away my memories. I spent nine years as a normal girl in normal schools, learning how to live and interact, and becoming my own person. Then Negi came into my life, I got swept up in the magical world through him, and a few months later an Averruncus is forcibly unsealing my memories. But the me who is talking to you right now is here to stay; the old me's personality couldn't compete. The Old Asuna is pretty much gone; I'm the New Asuna who just happens to have a lot of the Old Asuna's memories."

"I… I see… So much has happened… _Too _much…"

"Wait'll you hear those six's stories" she pointed to Gamma Team.

Negi finally managed to compose himself, reluctantly pulling away from his mother's shoulder, though she still had her hands gently but firmly placed on his shoulders and upper back, keeping him close. She leaned forward and touched her forehead to his, and he couldn't help but give a small smile. Gingerly, they helped each other to their feet. Teana and Marie had already stored a few surviving crystal fragments to hand to the research crew on the _Starshot _for analysis.

"Let's get out of this dreary place and head back to Mahora" Asuna said. "Boy, do we have a surprise for them!"

As the group, with their newest member, made their way back toward the surface, Arika walked alongside Teana (on her other side was Negi, still sticking close to her). It took very little time for Arika to discern that this girl was an experienced fighter. She carried herself like a soldier, rather than a gladiator or martial artist or Jack Rakan, and this close to her Arika could sense the girl's enormous ki/chakra reserves along with an unusually high magical capacity (though not to the level of her chakra). The other five girls that Asuna had pointed out seemed to be subconsciously following the redhead's lead, implying that she was the team leader.

"What's your name?" Arika asked.

"Teana Uchiha-Lanstar, your majesty" the girl replied.

"You're a soldier."

"Yes. UNSC, Naval-Special-Warfare, Warrant Officer Grade 5, at the moment; last survivor of Noble Team, and leader of Gamma Team."

"You seem rather young for a professional soldier."

"The UNSC's age of recruitment is 16, which is how old I am. Of course, my circumstances were… _very _unusual. I'll let you see all the vids that show and explain everything when we get back to the Academy."

"…You have the same elemental affinities as me, I can sense."

"…So Negi-kun got your Wind and his dad's Lightning, huh?"

"It seems so. …Is Konoemon still Headmaster?"

"That he is. The old guy's still going strong. Konoka-san here" Teana gestured to the perky girl sticking close to Setsuna "is the dean's granddaughter. She's also an obscenely powerful healer; she ranks a B on the offensive scale and an A- on defense, but an SS+ in healing spells."

"Amazing… And her 'friend' is, I am assuming, Eishun's student?"

"Yep. Setsuna-san's half-_tengu_, and she's extremely skilled in _Shinmei-Ryū_. She's also obsessively devoted to Konoka-san, as well as hopelessly in love with her. Fortunately for her, Konoka-san returns her feelings, though Setsuna-san hasn't quite worked up the guts to straight-out confess yet. Konoka's smart, though; she's already figured it out. They've even formed a Pactio". She leaned in close and whispers. "I was told that Konoka-san was rather… aggressive, if you know what I mean"

Arika chuckled at that. "So… is Evangeline McDowell still stuck in Mahora?"

"Yeah, and she's as bitchy about it as ever" Marie cut in. "Though it turns out that her reputation is… somewhat undeserved. Oh sure, she's _definitely _just as powerful – if not more so – then the rumors say, but she's nowhere near as evil or bloodthirsty. Wanna know something? Every single person Eva's killed over the centuries tried to kill her first. She's not even actually evil, though she tries so very hard to convince herself and others that she is. In the end, she's just an unfortunate kid who's had way too much crap happen to her over the centuries, and it's left her bitter and jaded and angry at the world. She still has a heart, though. She decided to train Negi and the rest of us for no obvious benefit, though she constantly comes up with superficial justifications to avoid admitting to herself that she's not as bad as she thinks she is. …Really, some part of her, deep down, is just in very dire need of a hug, though good luck surviving the attempt to reach that part."

Before long, everyone reached the entrance to the surface. Everybody climbed into Nagase's artifact, and the tall _kunoichi_ leapt out unseen, soon hooking up with the Falcon waiting for her.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Nepal (flyover en route back to Mahora)**

**Some Time Later**

The first hint Kaede got that they were under attack was a sudden flash of golden lightning that accompanied an abrupt complete loss of power in the Falcon, which began to plummet to the ground. Acting fast, she swept the pilot into her Artifact and leapt out of the tumbling craft, leaping and running down the sides of some rock formations to slow her descent and then coming to a safe landing on the ground. The Falcon landed with a crunch a little ways away, the impact doing surprisingly little damage to the sturdy vehicle. As she sensed two massive power signatures closing in fast, Kaede released the group from her Artifact, and they immediately took combat positions.

"Miss Entheofushia, I presume?" a near-toneless male voice inquired. "It is unexpected to see you alive."

The boy floated down into view, lightning crackling along his body, and his facial expression could have been carved from stone, so stoic and unchanging it was.

"Averruncus Quintum…" Ahsoka said, twin lightsabers drawn. "Have you come back to die again?"

"Hardly. I was sent to ensure that whatever you found in Istanbul, you did not get it back to Mahora intact. Seeing as the item in question is not a "what", but a "who", my mission parameters are to terminate with extreme prejudice."

"You'll not find me easy prey" Arika replied, summoning a gold and white longsword into her hands. "Especially if you mean to take on all of us by yourself."

"I do not."

A pillar of flame formed from the ground, and faded away to reveal Atur Ichii, the large, muscle-bound fire mage of _Cosmo Entelecheia_. Quintum used the brief moment of distraction caused by his ally's flamboyant entrance to fire a concussive cannon-blast of wind at the Library Trio… which was stopped by a wall of sand that shot up from beneath the ground. The rocky ground next to Arika then shifted and warped, as a figure rose out from it, soon staring up at his 'younger brother'.

"You've gotten in over your head this time, Quintum" Fate Averruncus said, and then turned to Arika. "Shall we deal with him together, milady?"

After about a second, Arika nodded, and the two took basic combat stances, their gazes meeting Quintum's.

"Very well, brother" Quintum said. "It is time for our rematch."

Meanwhile, Atur Ichii was staring down the rest of the group, mentally debating which ones to attack first while they silently debated over which of them would fight him. The debates were rendered a moot point when a finger tapped Ichii on the shoulder from behind. He turned to look… and was hammered in the face by a gravity-boosted punch, tumbling end over end into a rock formation. After a few seconds, the new pile of rubble exploded outward, revealing an angry Ichii. Albireo Imma responded with a calm, serious expression, his eyes actually open a little.

"I was hoping to find a way to kill Rakan," Ichii said, "but you'll have to do for now."

"Some vengeance can never be achieved" Albireo replied. "I will ensure you do not live long enough to face Rakan again."

Arika made the first move, calling forth a mass of fire in the shape of a bird of prey that soared at Quintum. He responded with what looked like a jaguar made of lightning, the two attacks crashing against each other and explosively cancelling out. Fate called out "_Mille Gladii Obsidianii_", and a barrage of dozens of black swords came hurtling upwards at Quintum, who moved frantically to dodge them (Quintum was the worst amongst the Averruncus Series in terms of defensive stats & abilities). A few of them managed to hit, cutting him in several places. Undaunted, as soon as the deadly fusillade stopped he unleashed a _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens_, the swirling wave of wind and lightning in turn being pushed back as Arika cast her own personal spell: _Palus Tempestas Incendium_, a fire-and-wind spell that equaled the _JTF _(and Evangeline's _Nivis Tempestas Obscurans_) in power. After several seconds of 'reverse tug-of-war', both spells dwindled away as their casters cut mana supply to them. Arika then rushed in, flying at Quintum with blade drawn. Quintum formed a spear-sword of lightning, and the clashing of blades was accompanied by a thunderclap.

Ichii narrowly avoided being struck by multiple crushing spheres of Gravity magic, each of which had several Light-element magical arrows "orbiting" them. He let loose a rapid-fire series of punches in the direction of Albireo, each punch shooting a small fireball. Albireo countered by briefly taking the form of Gateau Vanderberg, an _Iaiken _barrage striking out the fireballs, followed by a blast with the strength of a tank cannon smashing into Ichii. The muscle-bound man shrugged off and fought through the pain, charging Imma in an attempt to get into close range. Albireo, having dispelled his transformation, went on the defense, dodging or blocking the larger man's blows with his usual grace and economy of movement.

A wave of slicing wind magic was unleashed as Arika swung her sword, cutting deep into a barrier spell that Quintum hastily put up. A small, weakened bit got through, leaving a shallow cut across Quintum's chest. He responded with a concussive cannon-shot of wind that was blocked by a dense stone wall conjured by Fate, which then shattered into a fusillade of stone spears that shot toward Quintum, who wreathed himself in lightning and blitzed his way through. Before Quintum could move after coming out of that, Fate flashed in and landed a crushingly powerful blow to his midsection, sending him hurtling through the air a fair distance. Clutching his stomach, he barely managed to call up a shield-spell to block the barrage of Fire-type _Sagitta Magica _that Arika fired at him. Then the woman herself was in his face again, landing a kick to the head that left him dazed, but not so much that he couldn't flash-step backwards to avoid being bisected by her sword strike. He scowled as his lightning-laced magical aura flared.

A gravity pulse from Albireo knocked Ichii away, leaving him open for Al to land his own series of physical blows, the larger man being surprised by how physically strong the docile-looking librarian actually was. Imma finished with a rising palm strike that sent Ichii flying upward… and he didn't come back down, nor did Albireo lower his hand. Instead, he pointed the palm at the center of Ichii's chest, where he'd struck. Focusing, he clenched his fist, and the micro black hole came into being, rapidly sucking in Ichii's chest, head, and shoulders, leaving the rest of the living construct's body to fall to the ground inert. The tiny rend in space-time closed itself at Albireo's command, and he turned to watch the other fight.

Quintum summoned a group of shadow-demons, only for the creatures to be taken down by Fate's _Circulus Pilorum Nigrorum_, the few survivors being dealt with by Arika. The golden-haired woman then shot a thin and wide wave of fire with a swing of her sword, which Quintum – who was now starting to run on empty – managed to blow off-course with a Wind-type technique. He then formed _Gungnir_, the spear of lightning then being thrown at Arika at top speed… only for Fate to flash-step into its path, catch the weapon mid-flight, and throw it back, narrowly missing Quintum and soaring off into the sky. Arika then cast a _Flagrantia Rubicans _that Quintum's barrier barely withstood; the Averruncus was now panting lightly from exertion and tiredness. The next blow came from Fate, a punch that shattered Quintum's weakened barrier and struck him directly, followed by a hammer strike that sent him hurtling downward. Quintum pulled out of his descent a few meters above ground… and a huge stream of sand flowed upward from the earth, engulfing him. Before he could break out, a high-level fire attack from Arika heated the sand so much that it fused and became blackened glass. If Quintum had even survived that, he did not survive Arika slicing the mass in half down the middle, bisecting it and the Averruncus within it.

With that done, Arika and Fate descended to the ground, finding the others still watching (of course, they'd have jumped in the moment any of the fighting trio looked to be having trouble). Negi stared wide-eyed at his mother.

"What?" Arika said. "I may not be as powerful as your father, but I'm still far above the average."

Nearby, the sound of a motor starting up could be heard, the Falcon's propeller-turbines coming to life. The pilot waved from within the cockpit. Everyone then climbed back into Kaede N.'s artifact, and she in turn hopped aboard the craft, which set off for Mahora.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

I'll have the "Mahora group reacts to Arika" scene(s) in the next chapter.


	27. Garden's Entrance

THINGS I GOT FOR B-DAY: Nintendo 3DS (and a promise of Kingdom Hearts 3D when it comes out), Dead Space 1, Dead Space 2, new Linkin Park CD "Living Things", a replacement copy of Modern Warfare 2 (original damaged beyond playability), Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Pokémon Black, some new sandals (my old ones were old as dirt and falling apart; a thumb-sized hole had been worn clean through the bottom of the left-foot one, so every time I stepped on wet ground my foot got wet), Star Fox 64 3D, Tetris Party Deluxe (Wii)

THINGS I WANTED BUT DIDN'T GET: some new shoes (my current ones are old as dirt and falling apart, but it's hard to find a good pair of steel-toed shoes that aren't work/hiking boots; thankfully they have no all-the-way-through bottom holes), Kirby's Return to Dreamland (Wii)

Currently, _Dead Space _is occupying a chunk of my time. …Whoever came up with the "Don't Get Cocky, Kid" achievement needs to be smacked.

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

**Mahora Academy**

Headmaster Konoemon Konoe sat in his office, along with Takamichi, Eishun, and Evangeline. The away team had just returned, and reported that the sealed object he had detected was, in fact, a person. They refused to state who it was, planning to surprise him by showing him the person in his office. Thus he and the others found themselves here, as Kaede Nagase walked in, her Artifact still active. With a flourish, she swept it out, and from it emerged several people: Gamma Team, Negi's group, Albireo, Fate Averruncus, Albireo, and…

Konoemon could swear that his heart almost stopped. Takahata's unlit cigarette and Eishun's sheathed sword both fell to the ground, and Evangeline's eyes went wide.

"Alive…" Takahata murmured, his eyes as wide as can be. "She's alive…"

"L-Lady Arika…" Eishun stammered. "Y-You… We all thought you were…"

"Dead?" Arika replied. "No. I was sealed away in a crystal prison; by whom or for what reason or purpose, I do not know. I have been… informed of the present situation by Teana and my son…"

"Ah yes" Evangeline (presently in her adult form) replied. "The fact that Nagi is presently serving as host to the being I now know to be responsible for my… condition."

"…You can dispel the transformation, Evangeline. I have been informed of how your true form is a little girl."

Evangeline scowled and vanished from view in a puff of smoke, reappearing in her short & scrawny 10-year-old true form. With how small and cute she looked with that little pouting scowl on her face, Arika had to resist a motherly urge to pet her on the head. Arika also caught how Evangeline's gaze involuntarily softened a bit upon looking at Negi, remembering Fuyō's breaking down of how Negi had unwittingly won the hearts of so many girls… and how, according to Lingshen's temporally-displaced family tree record, he'd likely end up with _all _of them. (The girls had carefully _not _told Arika of how Negi had already been intimate with three of said girls.)

"So… What is our next move?" Arika asked.

"Sadly, we cannot do anything until they make the next move" Konoemon replied. "They are able to completely evade detection until they either engage us in battle or tap into a planetary mana nexus. On the bright side, we have reduced their number to five, excluding the Lifemaker."

"Three" Albireo said. "Arika-sama and Fate-kun killed Averruncus Quintum, and I have disposed of Atur Ichii."

"Ah. Good. That leaves Dynamis, Averruncus Sextum, and Averruncus Primum, if I recall correctly."

"Primum is the first of us" Fate said. "He will not be easy. It took a rampaging _Jinchūriki _to kill Secundum, and he was only a tiny step above Primum in power. And what Dynamis lacks in raw power – which isn't much – he makes up for in skill and experience. Sextum will probably be the easiest of the three."

"Which isn't saying much," Asuna added, "considering how much power all Averruncus have by design. Teana-san broke her arm taking Quartum out."

"Which wouldn't have happened had she not used that 'Star-Crusher' of hers" Konoka replied. "She probably could've finished him without it, actually; it just would've taken a little longer."

"Plus, both Negi-kun and Teana-san have managed to land fatal blows on Dynamis before" Mai said.

"Yes," Setsuna replied, "but Negi-kun was in his Erebus Daemon form when he bisected Dynamis, and when Dynamis fought Teana-san he had used up some power getting past the Gravekeeper."

"At the very least, I can fight on an even footing with Sextum without using a big chunk of the _Gobi_'s chakra so long as I have backup" Shion said. "I am, after all, the one who gave Sextum her first death."

"How's about we discuss who can defeat whom at some other time?" Albireo cut in. "I'm certain Arika-sama would like some more time to get to know her son and his _Ministrae_."

"Yes" Arika replied. "The last time I saw Negi, he was still a slightly-feminine-looking diapered two-year-old." Negi blushed as a few of the girls clandestinely giggled. "I want to know how he got from that to an 11-year-old SS-rank mage who's fighting to save two worlds and apparently winning said fight. Plus… right now, I really just want to be a mommy to the little boy I've been absent from the life of for far too long."

"Did he used to have nightmares if he didn't sleep cuddled up to someone?" Asuna asked.

"Yes, but don't all boys that age?"

"For Negi, that stopped being a regular occurrence, about… oh, three months ago. And it still happens sometimes."

"Asuna~" Negi gave an uncharacteristic embarrassed whine.

"Considering the trauma he underwent when he was four," Takahata said, "I wouldn't be surprised if nightmares plagued him for the rest of his life."

"At least he's never wet the bed…" Asuna murmured.

"Yeah, that hasn't happened since he was 4 ½, Nekane-_onee-san_ said" Konoka said. "And the last time was when he was sick."

"…What does being sick have to do with that?" Fate asked.

"People sleep deeper when they're sick," Evangeline explained to the construct, "especially children."

"Can we please move on to a different topic?" Negi said, his face almost as red as his hair.

"What say we let the others know about this development?" Kaede F. suggested. "It's bound to get one hell of a reaction…"

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Indeed it did. The rest of "Team 3-A" were quite shocked to learn that Queen Arika, Negi's mother, was back. Kurt Gödel nearly had a heart attack, while even Rakan showed some surprise. Upon regaining his wits, Gödel immediately set to work making damn sure that the Megalomesembrian Senate wouldn't find out about this. Arika, for her part, spent quite a bit of time getting to know Negi's students and _Ministrae_, getting their impressions of her son and also learning about them as people. She'd also found herself starting to develop a friendship of sorts with Evangeline, despite the fact that the immortal child had once tried to steal her husband. Granted, Eva hadn't known that Nagi had already found love by the time she met him, and Arika could tell that Nagi was no longer the Springfield that the vampiress had her eye on… Learning the girl's past from a third party solidified her conviction that Evangeline wasn't evil; just bitter and angry at the worlds, and resentful of the childhood stolen from her. This led to the beginnings of maternal interest in the eternal child. Anya seemed to take an immediate liking to Arika, too, and upon hearing how the fiery girl had taken it upon herself to 'keep Negi in line', thanked the girl… by teaching her a few new Fire spells, to the redhead's surprised joy.

Arika had also viewed the specially-prepared footage showing the backgrounds of the various worlds Teana had been to, as well as her & her team's actions in those realms. After coming to terms with everything Gamma Team could do and had been through, she'd met with Colonel Holland, finding him a pleasant and reasonable man who was quite helpful in answering questions she had. Shipmaster Arum was an agreeable fellow as well, and the fact he'd managed to land a blow against a mage of Dynamis' caliber during the skirmish at the Old Ostia palace spoke of his skill. Their ship was quite a marvel of engineering, too; that this mighty titan was but a destroyer-class vessel by its long-dead designers' standards spoke volumes of said creators' technological and military prowess.

She'd also been spending quite a bit of time with her son – being a mother for him, trying to help him deal with lingering issues, actually managing to get him to act like a kid his age a few times, and finding out via Asakura's photos that, with the right clothes, Negi could still make a very convincing girl, and now that his physical aging had effectively been halted by mastering _Magia Erebea_...

With everyone going about their lives, they all settled in and waited for the next sign of _Cosmo Entelecheia _activity to pop up somewhere in the world.

Unfortunately, it popped up in the one place they did not expect and least wanted it to.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Five Days After Arika's Rescue**

**Mahora Academy**

The first sign of trouble nearing Mahora Academy was a blast of magical energy slamming into the _Starshot_'s starboard side. The shipboard AI had detected the incoming attack and raised shields, which were reduced by 15% by the impact. Alarms sounded, both within the ship and within the monitoring stations within the Academy. Inside the bridge of the _Starshot_, people were rapidly springing into action.

"Hostiles confirmed to be _Cosmo Entelecheia_"

"Declaring Autumn Contingency"

"Charging the dimension-shift barrier…"

With a multicolored pulse, an enormous Midchildan-style reality shift barrier rapidly expanded out from the ship, engulfing the entire Academy and surrounding area. Specially tuned by Forerunner magitech, it did not eject those non-mages who were connected to the world of magic (members of Class 3-A who lacked Pactios, Eishun, Rex & Cody, everyone aboard the _Starshot_, etc), while the full mundanes of the affected area – those who knew nothing of the behind-the-scenes events – were left behind as everyone else was whisked away half a dimension over, into a pocket realm now significantly less populated. Within a minute, Gamma Team and Ala Alba had deployed. The group rapidly made their way to the outer borders of Mahora, and found all three of the Lifemaker's remaining disciples waiting for them.

"So you've chosen to decide it all with some battle royale?" Marie asked.

Dynamis smirked. "Something like that. One way or another, this clash will certainly be… climactic, one way or another."

"There's quite a lot of us against just three of you" Teana said. "Think you can put up a decent fight?"

"That's why we brought another" Averruncus Primum replied.

At that, a summoning circle appeared amongst the three _CE _disciples. From it emerged not a shadow-demon, but a human-looking figure – a young man with silvery hair, a well-pressed suit, slightly spiky hair, and a _huge _power level. He opened his blue eyes, and three small spheres of fire, ice, and lightning quickly swirled around his body.

"This… is Lord Lifemaker's ultimate creation. The newest and strongest of us. Averruncus Septum."

Fate and Negi scowled, and then gathered their power. The others followed suit.

(FOUR-BOSS BATTLE MUSIC: _Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep _– "Unbreakable Chains")

"I can hardly think of a more fitting dramatic battleground than the grounds of the World Tree" Dynamis said. "One way or another, the results of this clash will resound throughout the two worlds."

"This fight will be the deciding one for this world's fate" Sextum added.

"So let us begin…" Septum finished, "so that this all may end."

Several blurs of motion signaled the start of the epic battles, most of the good guys' heavy hitters picking their targets – Marie and Kaede Nagase went after Dynamis, Setsuna and Chao charged Sextum, Asuna and Shion rushed at Primum, and Negi, Fate, & Teana engaged Septum in battle.

"_Tajū Kage Bunshin_!"

Nine copies of Kaede N. joined the original as she leapt at Dynamis, and each of the 10 then threw a kunai with an explosive tag wrapped around it. 10 explosions taxed the shield spell Dynamis had quickly cast, which bore visible fractures and wraps before he then dismissed it and counterattacked with a hail of shadow spears. A shield spell from Marie deflected most of them and slowed the remaining ones enough for her to blast them with high-velocity magic bolts from Charon. She then switched to Light-Burst mode and fired a charged shot, seven different-colored bolts of Light-type energy streaking toward Dynamis, eating through the Shadow-type shield he brought up only to be cancelled out by an equal number of Darkness-type bolts he then fired.

A barrage of fire-bolts from Chao crashed into and partially melted the ice barrier that Sextum called up; the weakened barrier was then cleaved in two by Setsuna's sword, and with a flare of chakra she shattered the two halves into many sharp spikes of ice and sent them at the construct as a hail of frozen daggers. Sextum dodged and moved to avoid the attacks, her body (clad in that rather form-fitting suit) bending in ways that had Setsuna a teeny bit… distracted, as she gracefully negated the swordsgirl's attempt to harm her with her own element. Her grace was ruined as Chao pulled a magically-charged, time-manipulation-enhanced punch that sent her tumbling end over end for a fair distance. The female Averruncus had a scowl on her face as she looked at Lingshen, before then calling forth a pair of large serpentine dragons made of water and sending them at the girl. Setsuna moved between them and Chao, unleashing a wave of ki/chakra with a sword swing that cut through and dispelled both water-based constructs.

Asuna's huge sword swung, nullifying the blast of raw dark magic that Primum had fired at Shion. Shion channeled power into her Void Blade, muttering "Bladecharge", and the weapon lengthened to around seven feet. She sliced through a few barrier-shields and then swung the weapon in Primum's direction, unleashing a slicing wave of energy at him. In response, Primum called up a thick wall of stone from the ground that just barely withstood the Void-charged slicing beam. Asuna attacked from the side, weaving hand-seals and firing off a _Katon: Hōsenka _(it had been determined after the return to Earth that her element affinity was Fire); Primum raised a rune-form shield spell that the fireballs impacted with several tiny explosions… which obscured Asuna from view until she was right on top of him, lightsaber in hand and coming at his neck. With her close-range Anti-Magic dispelling his defensive barrier, he barely managed to dodge the decapitating strike, lashing out with a kick to her midsection that she shrugged off as he used the brief split-second to leap away, dodging a Void Prison attempt by Shion.

Septum fired three simultaneous attacks: a blast of fire at Tertium, an ice blast at Springfield, and a lightning blast at Lanstar. To his surprise, they switched attacks – a _Katon: Gōkakyū_ from Teana melted the ice burst, a focused burst of wind from Negi overwhelmed the fire attack and sent it back at Septum, and a spire of rock jutted out from below at Fate's command into the electric burst's path, dispersing the electricity into the ground harmlessly. Fate made the next move, casting _Cataracta Quae Dividit Terrum_, making some magma form and burst from the ground beneath Septum (who had been hovering only a few feet above the ground). Septum immediately shot upward, escaping with nothing more than singed pant-legs, and then brought up a shield-spell to block a _Dios Tukos _from Negi, the lightning-axe cracking the shield, which was then dispelled. Teana flew in, Mirage Longsword gripped and ready, and Septum formed a Lightning Blade to block her swing, the clash of powers making a small shockwave in the air. A quick but intense midair sword duel commenced, cutting off when Teana leapt back to make way for a _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens _from Negi to smash into Septum. Several seconds later, the Averruncus emerged from the attack's aftermath, looking somewhat worse for wear. He snarled, and charged, his body now aflame.

Dynamis attempt to catch Nagase off-guard with a Shadow Teleport was foiled by a fist-shaped energy blast smashing into him at mid-chest, knocking him away. A barrage of large, high-velocity thrown blades was next, forcing Dynamis to dodge frantically to avoid being skewered. Jack Rakan strode confidently onto the battlefield. Letting out an annoyed growl, Dynamis let loose a burst of the Lifemaker's Code… and it had no effect whatsoever. His eyes widened as Rakan simply stood grinning, arms akimbo as the magic washed over him.

"Didn't ya hear?" Rakan said. "I've fully actualized as a complete entity independent of _Mundus Magicus_."

"But… But that's impossible!" Dynamis shouted. "Utterly impossible!"

Rakan smirked. "You obviously don't know me very well if you think that the impossibility of doing something will stop me from doing it anyway. I already willed myself back into existence after the previous time the Lifemaker's Code erased me; your Master's 'holy power' no longer has any hold over me."

"Blasphemer!-! This doesn't change anything! It just means that now, when our Lord finally sends you to the Eternal Garden, you'll leave a body behind, just like the rest of these base Terrans!"

"Quit wastin' hot air and fight already" Rakan said.

With a roar, Dynamis took his four-armed 'Demon General' form and rushed at Rakan.

Setsuna let loose a _Kyokudai Raimeiken_, bisecting the 50-foot-tall ice titan that Sextum had summoned. The two halves of the elemental beast fell to the ground, shattering on impact. Ice gave way to fire as Chao fired two _Katon: Gōkakyū _in close succession, the first blasting through the water barrier Sextum conjured, and the second burning her arm as she narrowly avoided a direct hit. Chao's _Cassiopeia _whirred to life, and for a split-second there were several of her surrounding Sextum, each of them firing a blast of raw offensive magic. The barrage broke through the dome shield spell Sextum quickly called up, striking the female construct and dealing further damage to her. Incensed, she surrounded herself in a sphere of magically-supercharged water, tentacles tipped with ice spikes protruding out from it. Setsuna responded by taking a unique stance, hand on the hilt of her sword as she channeled power into it, calling up a technique that she never thought she'd get to use:

"_Zanmaken! Ni no Tachi Issen!-!_"

The slicing wave of _ki _headed straight for Sextum, reaching the water construct she'd surrounded herself with… and passing through it like it wasn't even there, slicing Sextum in two diagonally before continuing out the back end. The water/ice attack shell dissolved, and Sextum's body fell to the ground, her two halves rapidly dissolving into mana particles.

Green chakra surged up and formed into a semi-solid aura around Shion, two transparent green tails slowly undulating in back. She punched her arm forward, and the large green chakra claw raced out toward Primum. The Averruncus flew into motion, leaping over and sliding under several strikes from the burning-hot chakra construct. Just when he finally managed to avoid the last hit, he had to react again to avoid a boomerang-thrown lightsaber from Asuna, who quickly leapt in, catching her weapon as it came back to her, deactivated and holstered it, and put both hands into a downward swing with her greatsword. Primum, knowing the princess' anti-magic would permeate the blade, did not even try to block, instead opting to dodge again as the blade cleaved into the earth where he'd been standing. She then caught him off-guard with a Force Push that hit him like a cannonball (Ahsoka had been teaching her well, it seemed), sending him tumbling backward several feet.

Then Shion was there, next to Asuna, and dispelled the Tailed-Beast Shroud from her right arm which she then laid upon the flat of Asuna's sword. The massive blade became somewhat difficult to visually focus on as Void power flowed through it. The two girls charged Primum as he got back up, dodging his attempts to skewer them with rock spikes as they got in close. Shion lashed out with a claw swipe that was blocked with a wall of iron, but then Asuna's sword struck true, striking Primum directly. The energies of the Void and Asuna's anti-magic being carried by the sword combined and began to wreak havoc on Primum's physical structure, his body starting to come apart on a level even baser than that of atoms. Another strike accelerated the process, and Averruncus Primum couldn't even manage to scream as he ceased to physically exist, the atoms that made up his body being broken down into their constituent quarks.

The _Gungnir _lightning spear thrown by Septum crashed against the _Kratiste Aigis _multi-layer defense shield Negi formed, punching through six of the seven shields before fizzling out. Fate cast _Terra Findens_, only for the huge mass of lava to be flash-frozen by Septum's _Haionie Krustalle_. Teana's _Katon: Gōenkyū _had better luck, the huge fireball exploding with great force upon impacting Septum's quickly-cast shield spell, the defense only deflecting half of the attack's power while the rest did further harm to Septum. The construct responded with a torrent of lightning directed at Lanstar, who cancelled it out with a _Fūton: Daitoppa _(wind trumps lightning) that buffeted Septum around, forcing him lower to the ground. She followed with a double Crossfire Wave that pushed him down further, until he landed feet-first on the ground, arms still braced. Then Teana fired a barrage of Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_, and Septum's arms flew into motion as he worked to bat each one aside, his arms a blur of motion. However, he failed to notice as two big hands made of stone reached up from the ground and grabbed hold of his ankles until it was too late. Then, from the smoke surrounding him from Teana's attack, Negi rushed forward, two Shadow Clones dispelling as he held in his hand a swirling sphere of electrical energy. With less than a second between emergence and contact, Septum could not escape in time as Negi rammed the attack into his chest:

"_Raiton Rasengan_!"

The hyper-compressed sphere of Lightning chakra grinded into Septum's body while also delivering a devastating electrical shock to him. After several seconds, it 'detonated' with a faint thunderclap sound, Septum being sent spinning through the air backward at significant velocity to crash into the side of a building, ending up embedded in the wall. Fate Averruncus walked up to the barely-alive Septum, reached out with a tendril of sand, and snapped his neck.

Dynamis' horrified shock at the Lifemaker's "ultimate creation's" end at the hands of Springfield and Tertium gave way to rage as Rakan batted aside another of his high-level attacks. And then Jack decided to wrap things up, flash-stepping over to right in front of Dynamis and landing a devastatingly powerful punch that sent him flying and broke the Shadow Armor he was wearing. Before Dynamis could even stop his out-of-control movement, Rakan flash-stepped into his path and timed a rising kick that sent the shadow-user careening upwards. Another high-speed movement, and Rakan volleyball-spiked Dynamis downward. Finally, Rakan appeared where Dynamis would hit, a fist pulled back and charging power. He timed it perfectly, landing a rising blow and unleashing a point-blank, near-full power Rakan Impact. The energy beam blasted a large hole through Dynamis' central torso, while also sending him upward one last time. He began to come apart as he fell back down to earth, landing with a thud. He reached out, trying to conjure up a last attack at Rakan, only to watch as his extended arm faded away into mana particles, the rest of him soon following.

(BOSS MUSIC END)

Within a few minutes, everyone had gathered at the base of the World Tree (including those who hadn't taken part in the fights). Wounds were tended to and congratulations were given.

"I still can't believe we've actually, finally killed every single member of _Cosmo Entelecheia_" Setsuna said.

"Now there's only one left to deal with…" Arika said in a low tone.

"**Me?**"

Everyone jumped and looked in all directions at the sudden telepathic speech. Soon, Albireo caught sight of a large, hooded figure descending slowly to the ground from one of the World Tree's branches, coming to a gentle landing in front of everyone.

"**You have all performed admirably**" the Lifemaker said. "**To strike down my strongest disciples is truly a feat to be proud of. However… you must realize that defeating **_**me **_**will be a whole other matter. You have been obstructions to my plans long enough. It is time for every one of you to be struck down by the hand of a god, and sent to the Eternal Gardens where all belong.**"

"Do not presume us to be so weak" Negi said with an even, calm, angry tone. "We have accomplished too much to fall short of our goals now. Mundus Magicus can be saved."

"**I know that. And I believe it. But I do not believe it **_**should **_**be saved. That world and this one are plagued by hatred, strife, disharmony, fear, pain, and many more calamities great and small. You humans have proven yourselves unworthy of The Mantle, as have the constructs I created to live in that world. The only way to save the worlds' people from the suffering and chaos inherent in free individuality is to send them to the paradise beyond of the Eternal Gardens. And if you try to get in my way, I shall simply make you all the first additions to the sacred realm.**"

"For taking my husband from me…" Arika growled, sword in hand, "and robbing my son of a father… You can never be forgiven. We will end you here and now, and if we fall we will ensure that you fall with us!"

"…**We shall see.**"

(BOSS MUSIC: _Kingdom Hearts 3D _OST– "The Dread of Night")

Chao made the first move, unleashing a huge barrage of Fire-type _Sagitta Magica_. The Lifemaker raised his arm, and a black rune-shield sprang up to block the barrage, being weakened and cracked by the end of it but still holding. He dispelled the shield and lashed out with a swarm of shadow spears, only for a massive, glowing white rune-shield from von-Klaus to easily block the attack.

'_Everyone, listen_' Klaus said to the group telepathically. '_Albireo, Konoemon, and I have a plan. Just give us enough time to implement it. Eishun, Shion, Asuna, we'll need your help once the plan gets moving._'

'_What are you planning?_' Shion asked.

'_Do you remember when Asuna was possessed by Darth Nihilus?_'

Marie switched Charon to 'Annihilator Beam' mode, and began firing charged shots as quickly as possible, the Light-&-Darkness-type bursts eating through the Lifemaker's smaller shields as quickly as he formed them. Ahsoka formed a few hand-seals and cast _Raiton: Gian_, two spearing strikes of Lightning chakra crashing against a stronger shield the Lifemaker called up, nearly rupturing it. Teana fired a _Katon: Gōkakyū _and then launched a _Fūton: Shinkū Taigyoku _straight through the fireball, the attacks combining into a high-speed, explosive elemental combo that shattered the Lifemaker's shield and actually knocked him back several feet – the first time in this fight that he'd been made to move from his starting position.

Kotarō unleashed a pack of large Shadow Hounds, only for the Lifemaker to bat them aside, each of his strikes dispelling the construct it hit. A flash of white light accompanied Negi taking his _Raiten Sōsō _form, while a surge of red chakra signaled Mai entering her 3-Tailed Form. Negi formed four Lightning Release Shadow Clones, and he & they rushed the Lifemaker. Surprisingly, the ancient figure was able to predict Negi's ultra-high-speed movements with reasonable accuracy, allowing him to counter and dispel two of the four Lightning Clones within the first several seconds. The real Negi then managed to land a high-charged _Raikahōken _that pushed the Lifemaker back a little when he blocked it, the cloaked figure letting out a quiet grunt of effort for the first time thus far. He lashed out, catching Negi with shadowy tentacles and squeezed, only to discover that the boy had pulled off a _Kawarimi no Jutsu _with one of his Lightning Clones, which burst into a surge of electricity that fried the shadowy tendrils, which were quickly discarded.

Chao flew in, firing off a _Flagrantia Rubicans _that struck the Lifemaker's shield… and then she vanished from view as her Cassiopeia Watch flashed, and she reappeared directly behind him, unleashing a point-blank _Sagitta Magica _barrage. She vanished again, appearing above him and blasting him with another _Flagrantia Rubicans_. Finally, she vanished and reappeared again to his left, her runes glowing as she unleashed a huge spear of solid fire magic. She threw it… and the dark figure caught the magical weapon.

"**Time manipulation… Quite the ability you have there. You're a significant potential threat.**"

Arika and Mai rushed in next, the latter covered by a three-tailed _Bijū _Cloak. Arika charged her sword with fire magic, the blade glowing hot. She swung, slicing/burning through a few shadow tendrils sent her way, and then with a palm-thrust she fired a concentrated vortex of wind. The Lifemaker floated out of the way to the side with respectable speed, the slicing vortex missing him entirely. Mai swung her arm, unleashing a very powerful shockwave that the Lifemaker had to brace himself against to avoid being blown away by. He snapped to attention just in time to form a shield to stop the _Suiryūdan no Jutsu _sent his way by Mai, the dragon-shaped torrent of water smashing flat against the glowing black rune that formed in its path. Once it had faded, the Lifemaker fired a large burst of Darkness magic at Mai… only for it to be blocked by a sudden wall of ice in its path, as Evangeline made herself known. A massive barrage of ice spears smashed into the Lifemaker's shield, taxing it. The shield could not withstand the following _Nivis Tempestas Obscurans_, the Ice/Darkness spell pushing him backward at speed and into a building. After a few seconds, the Lifemaker flew out of the building, rushing at Evangeline. Around his arm had formed a black blade that seemed to absorb all light, and Evangeline formed her _Excis Exsequens _to match it, the two impossible blades clashing with great force, creating a shockwave that shattered windows in nearby buildings.

As the Lifemaker and Evangeline clashed swords and exchanged close-range Ice and Darkness blasts, Rakan took the opportunity he saw, firing off a Rakan Impact that hit the off-guard Lifemaker in the side, actually dealing enough damage for the dark figure to take notice. Rakan easily dodged the retaliating blast of Darkness magic, flash-stepping out and reappearing in midair right next to the Lifemaker, and landing a roundhouse kick that sent the dark being tumbling through the air on a diagonal path to the ground. Teana was there, with a Stage 0 _Susanō _right arm ready, landing a perfectly-timed lariat move that slammed the just-about-to-hit-ground Lifemaker into the ground, shattering the stone pavement and sending up a dust cloud that Lanstar was quickly seen leaping out of.

The dust was blown away from within, swirling around the Lifemaker as his aura flared, his full power being brought up. Just then, however, a series of very intricate runes appeared, surrounding him, forming a cage of sorts. Then Asuna & Shion were visible rushing in between the gaps and toward him, Eishun Konoe hot on their heels. Shadow Clones from Teana and Kaede N. kept the Lifemaker distracted just long enough for the trio to reach him, their powers charged. As one, they struck – Asuna's anti-magic, Shion's Void power, and Eishun's _Shinmei-Ryū _Exorcism Strike being accompanied by bursts of light and magic from Klaus', Albireo's, and Konoemon's magical circles. All converged on the Lifemaker at once. There was an unholy, unnatural sound as the Lifemaker's physical form wavered and warped, and as his host was ripped free of him, Nagi Springfield being yanked out of the semi-solid Lifemaker by Asuna. Without a host, the Lifemaker proceeded to fade from view, soon becoming a transparent shadow that then vanished as well.

(BOSS MUSIC END)

Everyone quickly gathered around the group, Arika and Negi shoving people out of the way as they rushed toward Nagi, who was now stirring.

"Father!" "Nagi!"

Slowly, the man opened his eyes, the first thing he saw being his wife and child.

"Hi, honey" he said dazedly. "Hey Negi. You've gotten bigger since I last saw ya, kid."

The two then tackle-hugged the man, an outpouring of emotions emerging as they hung onto him for dear life. After a few minutes of just holding and reassuring them, Nagi put his hand on Negi's forehead, and memories flowed before his eyes in a few seconds.

"…Jeez, you've been through way too much crap for someone your age, Negi. …I suppose some of it's my fault. I'm sorry."

Negi pulled his teary face away from his father's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. Nagi smiled at him. He then looked around, noticing everyone else.

"So Asuna finally got hit by the puberty stick a century later than she should've, we've got a bunch inter-dimensional traveler friends, Jack's able to manifest on Earth, Klaus is missing an arm courtesy of pushing Evangeline too far, and you just used some fancy work to shove the Lifemaker out of me. Do I have it right?"

"Pretty much" Rakan replied. "Good to have ya back, you crazy bastard."

The mood was abruptly ruined as a sudden surge of dark power was felt. The wind began to blow fiercely, a vortex swirling around at the base of the World Tree. Mana particles could be seen rapidly converging, forming into a familiar figure, the long black cloak taking form over an unidentifiable body.

"Impossible…" Albireo muttered, eyes wide in fear.

"Scans reveal our enemy is drawing upon mana collected from the Earth's nexuses to create a physical form independent of a host" Cross Mirage announced. "Hostile is at full strength; recommend maximum caution."

Everyone stared in horror as the Lifemaker finished reforming, feeling his baleful gaze despite the fact that they couldn't see his eyes (if he even had any). For several seconds, no-one moved. Then, the Lifemaker slowly raised his right arm, pointing a finger out at the group.

"**Bang.**"

There was a beam of raw Darkness energy that raced out. Everyone turned and saw as Chao Lingshen was sent flying backward, an expression of horrified shock on her face and a fist-sized hole punched clean through her chest while dark magic ravaged through her body. Time seemed to flow in slow motion as she landed on her back with a thud, unmoving. Immediately Konoka snapped to attention and rushed over to her, Artifact out. She kneeled down… and after several seconds, everyone saw as the healer teared up, reaching a trembling hand out and closing Chao's eyes.

"**The power to bend time to one's will… A power too dangerous to be allowed continued existence arrayed against me. Rather than the Eternal Gardens, I have sent her to the Infinite Paradise Beyond. And now… you shall all be sent to the Eternal Gardens, along with the rest of this world.**"

"…Why… Why are you doing this?-!" Kaede F. screamed. "What did we do to deserve annihilation?-!"

"**You humans have proven unworthy of The Mantle, just like the last race it was considered for. And all species that prove unworthy of The Mantle are extinguished. Such has it been for countless eons. Like all the rest, you have succumbed to the perils of individuality – sorrow, hatred, bloodshed, murder, war, destruction… To safeguard the universe as a whole, you must be removed from the equation, one way or another.**"

"The Mantle…" Teana's eyes widened in recognition, remembering the data files that Cortana had retrieved from The Ark. "It… It can't be! You can't be…!"

"**I am. Those of you who assumed me to be 2,800 years of age were grossly mistaken; that is merely the age of the artificial world I created. In truth, I have existed for longer than your species' distant ancestors. I have gone by many names in my eons of existence – Lucif, The Aralex Entity, The One Of All, The God of Destruction & Rebirth, the Nomad designated "Tetra", and hundreds of others. For millennia, I slumbered until this world's people had developed. When I saw the road humanity was walking, I knew it was a lost cause, and created my own world, only to see it succumb to the inevitable cons of individuality as well.**

"**You humans have failed to inherent The Mantle, just as the Forerunners failed before you. The tool we devised to smite them, the Transcendent Plague created by the first of us so many galaxies and billions of years away, is not available at this time and place. Instead, I shall carry out your sentence myself.**

"**I am the last Precursor, and I am your salvation through destruction.**"

With that, he raised both arms high as power gathered. Before anyone could even think of escaping, a devastating, blinding wave of magic raced out at incredible speed. The barrier keeping the fight out of the baseline realm full of mundanes collapsed in an instant, and the normal students of Mahora Academy barely had time to notice the rapidly-expanding dome of light. Anyone touched by the wave of ancient Precursor magic immediately ceased to exist, their bodies torn away as their minds & souls were pulled into the Eternal Garden. The _Starshot_'s shields held for but a half-second before it too was consumed. At the speed of light, the dome rapidly enveloped the entire planet, seven billion people being abruptly ripped from their mortal shells and drawn into the Eternal Gardens of _Cosmo Entelecheia_.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Just two more chapters to go, I believe.


	28. Eternal Garden

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"Where… am I? Where is everyone?"

Shion found herself in what looked to be a huge meadow that stretched out for a ways, the grass swaying in the cool breeze. A little ways away, she could see a grove of trees, and could just barely hear the sound of running water within them. She knew this couldn't be truly real. She remembered all too clearly what had transpired not long ago: Nagi's freedom, the Lifemaker's resurrection and the revelations behind his true nature & identity… Chao's death… And then the massive wave of unfathomable energy. It didn't take her long to deduce that she was now in the 'Eternal Garden' that had so often been spoken of. She knew she wasn't dead; after killing Chao, the Lifemaker had made it clear that the Eternal Garden was _not _the true afterlife. Plus, she could still feel the faint current of life-force, her chakra, flowing through her own body. But the fact remained that she was, for some reason, alone in this realm… for now.

For an instant, she caught sight of movement within the trees. She made sure her templar armor was in place and her Void Blade was ready, and made a Void Jump to the edge of the trees. She then made her way in, calling out vocally and telepathically, but getting no response. After around 10 minutes of this, she sighed and sat down against a tree.

"What do I do now?" she wondered aloud. "Do I just… wander this realm forever? I can't even find or sense any of the others… Am I… trapped here for the rest of my life? I might never again see Mai… or… Satoshi…"

"_I wouldn't be so sure of that._"

Shion's head jerked up at the sudden voice, looking around. It had sounded so wonderfully familiar… She saw as a ghostly figure approached, forming from motes of light as it walked towards her. Her breath caught in her throat as the figure became recognizable, smiling warmly at her.

"S…" she tried to choke the word out. "Sa… Sato…shi…"

"_Shion… I'm sorry I left you and Satoko behind…_"

Shion could barely breathe. Through the Force and the Void, she could sense that this was _not _a false construct created by the Eternal Gardens. This was the real Satoshi, come from the beyond to be with her in her hour of need. She began to reach, arms shakily rising, despite knowing that she could not touch him in his intangible form. He walked closer and reached out, and though she could not feel his actual hand atop her head, the warmth was somehow still there. A few tears fell from her eyes.

"I… I'm so sorry… What my former clan did to you… T-They… _killed _you…"

The image of Satoshi shook his head. "_No. It may be hard for you to believe, due to all that they've done to you, but the Sonozaki Clan honestly had nothing to do with what happened to me._"

A shocked gasp forced its way through her throat as it felt like a chunk of her worldview was suddenly and violently turned inside-out. Her old clan… _hadn't _been responsible for her losing her beloved?

"_Though… they have still done many other things - to you and to others - that are unforgivable._"

"…Yeah…" Shion was still in a state of minor mental shock.

"_Also… What you see here, standing before you… I'm not a ghost; I'm an astral projection. When you jumped dimensions, it somehow enabled me to do this, and a spirit I met – named Tassadar – taught me more of what I needed to know to control it._"

"Astral projection…" Shion remembered Ulan's teachings, and her eyes went wide. "T-That means… you're still…"

"_Alive. Yeah. I'm still alive. However, my physical body is comatose, and has been for nearly a year, since my disappearance. There's a… poison or plague or something being kept in check by keeping me in a medically-induced coma; so long as I'm in it, my condition won't deteriorate, but I can't safely be brought out of it until a cure is made._"

'Still alive…' Shion thought. 'By the Void… he's still alive… Thank God…'

"_I've been following along – intermittently watching some of the things you & your friends have been doing. You've come so far, Shion. …I was listening when you explained your past to the others._"

"S… So you know… that I love you…" she had gone slightly pale in fearful anticipation. However, Satoshi smiled, and his semi-transparent face went a little red.

"_And I… l-love you, too_" he said shyly. "_I might not have fallen for you at the same time as you did for me… but I most definitely did fall for you during our time spent together._"

Shion's face went from slightly pale to a moderate blush, though a semi-delirious smile formed as well, and a few tears came to her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Um… When you say you've been watching me now & then… What about… w-when me and… Mai…"

Satoshi's response – blushing and averting his eyes – answered that question, and Shion's face went bright red.

"_Granted, I'm perfectly fine with s-sharing you. …A-Anyway, come with me, Shion. There's something that needs to be done – something that you need to do – before it's time to strike back against the Last Precursor._"

"…Did you enjoy the shows, at least?"

Satoshi's semi-transparent face went even redder. "_…Y-Yes._"

Satoshi's spirit led Shion through the small forest, approaching the sound of water. Soon, they came across a waterfall. In the center of the pool of water at the waterfall's base was a circular stone platform.

"_If you're going to fight the Lifemaker, you'll need every edge you can get. The biggest edge will be full access to your Tailed Beast's power. These are an exact replica – right down to function – of a sacred site on the last world you all visited: the Falls of Truth. If you can conquer the challenges that these Falls hold, Shion, you will gain full control over the Five-Tailed Tiger's power… and, depending on how things go, perhaps the willing cooperation of the Five-Tails itself._"

Shion gasped in awe, both at what Satoshi was saying and at feeling the dazzlingly unique energy signature that the Falls of Truth had.

"_The flow of time between the various realms is a little bit wonky right now, but at this very moment Uzumaki Naruto-kun is undergoing the same trials with the Falls of Truth on his world, so as to tame the Kyūbi's power. Now, according to what the spirit of the ring-eyed man I met told me, first you have to sit in the center of that stone platform and enter a meditative trance. There, you'll go up against your first - and, he said, likely biggest – challenge. He… did not tell me what that challenge is._"

Shion nodded and made a clear leap to the stone platform, setting down in a lotus position in the center. She closed her eyes and emptied her thoughts, feeling the intricate flow of the Force, the Void, and her own chakra. Her breathing slowed, and soon the sound of the rushing waterfall seemed to muffle in her ears.

"**Pathetic**" a girl's voice suddenly hissed out from nowhere. "**You really think everything's gonna turn out fine?**"

Shion's eyes snapped open, and from the waterfall in front of her she was a figure emerge – vibrant green hair, Dark Templar combat outfit, yellow hair-ribbon, three metal fingernails, huge breasts… Except for the cruel smirk that rested below currently-shut eyes, it was an exact mirror image of Shion herself.

"**So we've finally found Satoshi-kun, in a way. But do you honestly think that'll make any difference? The clan still hates both him and us; if you ever return to our homeworld to seek him, they'll find out, and they'll hunt us down, and then they'll kill him right in front of us before they do us in. They might even make Mion do it, just for spite… that is, unless they convince her to do it of her own accord. And as for Mai-chan? Her old owner will reclaim her eventually, and she'll be right back in that Hell she tried to escape from. Of course, that is all assuming we even stand a chance against the Lifemaker, which we don't. He'll crush us like bugs beneath his feet, because to him that's all we are. And then… we shall become one with the Darkness. However… if you give yourself over to me, I'll do what you can't, and wield the Darkness to crush them all, along with everyone who tries to stop us… and a bunch of people who don't.**"

"Who… _What _are you?" Shion had taken a combat stance, her blood already boiling from the Other's words. In response, the other Shion opened her eyes – blood-red irises, pitch-black sclera – and gave an evil, fanged grin.

"**I'm you; your Inner Demon; your Heart's Darkness. Your sorrow, your pain, your fear, your loneliness, your insecurity, your jealousy, your frustrations, your anger, your hatred… It's time to stop fooling yourself into believing you can live in the light. We were destined for the cold Darkness of oblivion from birth. And if you don't accept your fate and go to it willingly… then I'll drag you there myself.**"

The Dark-Side's Void Blade came to life, the blade a pale red rather than the bright green of Shion's. Shion quickly activated her own Void Blade, taking a stance that the other her mirrored. The two charged, meeting in the middle, their blades pushing and grinding together as they glared at each other, a serious & focused look on Shion's face and a sadistic, bloodthirsty grin on her Dark-Side's. After several seconds of resulting sword-dueling, they both leapt back and made hand-seals.

"_**K**__a__**t**__o__**n**__: __**G**__ō__**k**__a__**k**__y__**ū**_!"

Two large fireballs shot out, impacting and exploding against each other, the resulting shockwave throwing both combatants back. Shion fired off a _Katon: Hōsenka_, which Dark-Shion countered with a strike of Darkness-type _Sagitta Magica_. Then they both disappeared in two whorls of black (perceived-by-feeble-human-eyes-as-) smoke, starting a Void-Jumping battle; they would reappear and disappear here & there, each time locking blades as they emerged only to Jump out again. They emerged, each holding a _Rasengan _in hand, and lunged at each other, the two spheres colliding. They pressed their attacks against each other, each one trying to overpower the other. After several seconds, the chakra spheres explosively destabilized, blowing both girls backward, away from each other. Shion formed two Shadow Clones, only for her dark counterpart to do the same. A three-on-three brawl quickly returned to one-on-one as the Shadow Clones destroyed each other, with the originals paying little mind.

The battle went on for what felt like forever, neither fighter managing to get an edge over the other. Everything one did, the other could as well, and neither of them could access the _Gobi_'s power in this mindscape. Both combatants were panting for breath.

"**Just give it up**" Shion's Dark-Side told her. "**I know every trick you do. I have just as much power as you. Neither of us is going to be able to beat the other in a straight-up fight. The only way this will end is when one of us gives up… and that sure as Hell isn't going to be me!**"

Shion panted as she tried to think of something, _anything_. It was a total and complete stalemate. She couldn't defeat her Heart's Darkness. …And then she thought of something. Maybe she'd been going about this the wrong way. She remembered what Negi-kun had told her of the "test" he underwent to access _Magia Erebea_. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, calming herself.

"**Don't let your guard down, fool!**" her Dark-Side roared as she charged, crimson energy blade ready to strike Shion down.

"I have jealousy in my life, of my sister and of others, but I control it; I do not let it control me."

Shion's Dark-Side stopped and reacted as if physically struck, feeling herself weaken slightly. She stared at Shion in shock as the other girl's eyes opened, showing calmness, serenity, and conviction. The Darkness snarled and made to charge again, to stop Shion from continuing.

"There is sorrow in my life, but thanks to my friends, I do not let it consume me."

The Heart's Darkness reared back again, letting out a gasp of pain.

"I have suffered pain in my life, but with my own strength and my friends' help, I move past it."

The Darkness groaned in pain through clenched teeth, struggling to approach.

"There are things I am afraid of, but I am strong enough to push past that fear."

"**D-Damn you…**"

"I have suffered from loneliness, but thanks to Mai, Teana, and the others, I no longer do and never will again." 

The Dark-Shion snarled in impotent fury.

"I have insecurities, but I know that my friends' strengths will make up for my weaknesses."

"**Shut up…**"

"I have frustration and anger, but my frustrations are dealt with and my anger is kept in check."

"**Shut up!**"

"I have hatred of many people and things, but I do not let that hatred twist me into a monster."

Shion's Darkness roared and made one final, last-ditch charge. Shion glared at her, calm and certain.

"There is darkness in my Heart. But I _control _it! It does_ not control me!-!_"

In a burst of black particles, the Dark Shion abruptly disintegrated, Shion feeling that part of her chained within her own Heart, now cowed and defeated. The mindscape she was in dissolved away, and she opened her eyes to find herself still seated in front of the Falls of Truth. She got to her feet, and turned to Satoshi's spirit. She sent him a grin and a thumbs-up, and he smiled in return.

"_Follow me_" he said, walking through the waterfall and the hidden passage behind it, Shion close behind him.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Shion opened her eyes and looked around, finding herself in an off-white void. This plane of existence within her was where the _Gobi _dwelled?

"AH, MY HOST? IT IS A BIT OF A SURPRISE TO SEE YOU HERE."

Shion spun around to face the direction the voice had come from… and looked up at the massive beast standing before her – a humongous tiger with black-striped forest-green fur, fangs that stuck out of its closed mouth, five long, thin tails slowly undulating, and slit-pupiled, bright green eyes that showed a calm, sharp intelligence that was analyzing her. Shion's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she felt the presence of the titan before her, and she was quite surprised to feel none of the malice and rage and bloodlust that had always tried to force its way into her whenever she had used the beast's power.

"I… I don't understand… Every time I've tapped into your power, there's been this horrible corrupting rage and bloodlust. And yet, you don't bear any of that in your chakra…"

"THE CORRUPTIVE TAINT WAS NOT MINE. IT WAS THAT OF YOUR HEART'S UNCONQUERED DARKNESS. WHENEVER YOU DREW UPON MY POWER, IT WAS NOT DIRECT; IT FLOWED FROM ME, THROUGH YOUR DARKNESS, AND THEN INTO YOU, BEING TAINTED BY THE DARKNESS IN THE PROCESS. BUT I SENSE THAT YOUR DARKNESS HAS NOW BEEN CONQUERED AND QUELLED; THUS, ITS TAINT CAN NO LONGER CORRUPT MY CHAKRA WHEN YOU WIELD IT."

"I… I see… W-Will you help me against the Lifemaker?"

"YES. YOU SHOULD KNOW, HOWEVER, THAT THE LAST PRECURSOR IS NOT THE ONLY MAJOR THREAT. THERE IS ANOTHER LOOMING ON THE HORIZON, JUST AS GREAT IF NOT GREATER. THE GIRL NAMED RUIN, WHOM YOUR SQUAD LEADER AND YOUNG SPRINGFIELD FOUGHT AGAINST, IS A SERVANT OF A HIGHER, DARKER POWER, ONE THAT COULD THREATEN ALL CREATION. YOU WILL NEED MY STRENGTH, YOUNG SHION."

"T-Thank you, _Gobi-sama_."

"…MY NAME IS KHAN. YOU HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO KNOW IT."

"Thank you, Khan-sama. I'd… best be on my way, I suppose."

"NEITHER OF US WILL TRULY BE GOING ANYWHERE. I DWELL WITHIN YOU, REMEMBER? WE WILL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH THOUGHT WHENEVER EITHER OF US WISHES IT. THOUGH WE WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO TEMPORARILY BLOCK EACH OTHER OUT SHOULD WE DESIRE PRIVACY FOR ANY REASON."

Shion gave a respectful bow and then left the mindscape, her consciousness returning to the physical realm (well, sort of – Eternal Garden, and all).

A few minutes later, Shion and the ethereal Satoshi emerged from the Falls of Truth, making their way a short distance and then standing close together.

"_Your friends are waiting, Shion. Most of them have already received the pep-talks they need from the spirits of the departed, but Teana-san needs your help – yours and the others'. You've gotta go save the day and all that._"

"I… You…"

"_It'll be alright. You'll find my physical body, and your friends will be able to fix me. I just know it. And… well, before we part ways, there's something I'd like to do. This realm has a few unique properties…_"

Satoshi's translucent form glowed and solidified, as he somehow took physical form.

"I'll only be able to maintain this for about two or three minutes" he said. "It should be long enough, though."

"F-For what?" Shion murmured, blushing as he stepped in closer.

"For me to do what I should've done the last time we were together, before I was taken from you."

She felt his arm wrap around her waist, hand resting on the small of her back. She felt as his other hand gently stroked her cheek before resting on the back of her head. And then she felt his lips press against hers. As her face went red, she let out a light moan and closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him and held him close, kissing back. A breeze blew by, and Shion was vaguely aware of her cloak billowing dramatically in the wind, as if to accentuate the moment. After about two minutes, they slowly, hesitantly pulled away.

"_Go, Shion. You've got work to do. I'll wait for you. I love you._"

"I love you, too… Satoshi… And I _will _find you. I promise."

He smiled as his astral projection dissolved into particles of light, his spirit following the thread back through space & time to rest within his physical body once more. Holding a hand to her heart, she reached out with her senses, seeking the energy signatures of anyone familiar. After several seconds, she found someone. In a whorl of black not-smoke, she disappeared.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Slowly, hesitantly, Kaede Fuyō allowed herself to be gently pulled away from her mother's embrace. Her mom's presently-solid ghost gave a warm, tearful smile to her little girl.

"_You've accomplished so much, and I'm so proud of you for it. But you've also suffered far too much for someone of your tender young age, and I am truly sorry that I was the cause – indirect it may have been – for a great deal of that. My little girl… how I wish I could've been in your life more. But you have friends – people who love you, and whom you love in return. And that makes me happier than you can imagine. And right now, those friends need your help. Go, Kaede. Be strong, baby-girl. I will always love you._"

With that, the woman's spirit faded from view, dispersing into motes of light that slowly faded away. Kaede wiped the tears from her eyes and gathered herself, and then set out.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"I guess… this is goodbye again, Mick…" Marie said sadly.

"_Yeah…_" the ghostly boy standing in front of her said. He looked about 13 or 14, with sandy blonde hair and brown eyes. "_It was really nice to see you again, Marie…_"

"Y-You, too" she choked out, trying not to let herself cry. "I've… I've missed you so much… I lost faith in… everything… after you died…"

"_I know. But thanks to your friends, you've regained it again. And you found people to share your life with. People who need your help now. They're waiting for you._"

"Y-You remember how back then, w… we could already tell that I swung both ways?"

"_Like how I'd catch you staring at the backsides of the basketball team and the cheerleaders with equal enraptured intensity?_"

She chuckled, despite the tears being held back in her eyes. "E… Even though you 'batted for the other team', so it couldn't have worked out… I… I loved you…"

"_I know_" he replied as he smiled warmly. His ghostly form briefly became solid as he walked forward. He leaned out and kissed her on the forehead, and she finally let a tear fall as she hugged him. After a few seconds, they detached, his form becoming ethereal again.

"_Good luck out there, Marie. I know you can do it._"

Mick's body faded away into light, leaving her alone for now. After composing herself, she took off flying, seeking out her friends and squadmates.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"I'm so sorry, Sayuri…" Mai said in a choked whisper. "All you ever got to see of me in life was me suffering, in pain, in despair… You didn't get to see all I've found for myself now – freedom, friends, strength to protect those important to me…"

"I know you have them now" replied the currently-solid-form specter standing before her, an infant held protectively in her arms. "That's more than enough to make me happy."

Mai sniffled as she looked out at the smiling infant that was now gently being passed to her – her own daughter, who'd been ripped out of her and murdered before her eyes what seemed like a lifetime ago. The baby girl recognized her mother and giggled.

"Be a good girl for Sayuri-mama, Saeko-chan" Mai said in a gentle voice, trembling lightly with emotion as she smiled at her departed child. "Mama's gotta go help save a couple worlds now. Mama loves you, okay?"

The little girl giggled and hugged her for a few seconds, and Mai cried again for a bit before handing the baby back to her lost friend. The other two became transparent and soon started fading away.

"_Be strong, Mai. We believe in you._"

With that, they were gone. After about a minute, Mai finally moved on, heading out to find her friends.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

"_You've done good, Snips_" said the specter of Anakin Skywalker. "_I'm proud of you._"

"Thank you, Master. …I'm sorry I couldn't have been there to… stop your fall…"

"_Palpatine would have killed you had you been present_" the ghost of Plo Koon replied. "_And the implementation of Order 66 was unforeseeable._"

"_I'm glad to know that Rex disobeyed the Order to protect you, though_" Anakin said.

"_There isn't much time left_" Padme's spirit said. "_You'd better get going, Ahsoka. It was wonderful getting to talk with you one last time._"

"You were always kind to me…" Ahsoka said, tearing up a little as she looked at Padme's ghost. "Always supporting me and cheering me up when I was down, encouraging me, even letting me stay at your place from time to time when I didn't want to deal with the Temple. In another time… I… wish I could have called you 'mother'."

Padme's spirit smiled, a translucent tear rolling down her face. "_And I would have been overjoyed to call you my daughter._"

"_And I guess I kinda did play the role of a stern, slightly overprotective, yet well-meaning father_" Anakin's ghost said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"_Our window is closing_" Plo said. "_May the Force be with you, little 'soka._"

"Goodbye, Master Plo. Goodbye… mom… dad…"

In three bursts of light, the trio of departed spirits returned to the Beyond. Ahsoka took a minute to compose and calm herself, and then headed out, reaching out through the Force to try and locate her teammates.

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

There was blackness everywhere; every direction was a dark void. When the Lifemaker had let out his almighty pulse of energy, she had cast a _genjutsu _on herself to avoid being trapped within whatever dream world her mind would've been thrown into. Unfortunately, the Lifemaker had noticed, and when she found herself in this endless void of nothingness, he was there with her.

Her body felt numb and weak; she lacked the strength to even raise her head. And thanks to the Lifemaker, she lacked the will as well. The whole time, he'd been somehow sapping her mental strength, her will to fight. Sometimes it'd be with words, other times he'd merely stand there and his mere presence would somehow do it. She couldn't sense anyone else; she was alone.

"**You've come far, little child… but it was all for naught. You were out of the ordinary, yes, but before me you were just another insect. And now you have rejected the peace of the Eternal Garden. So, unlike your friends, you will spend eternity in this black, empty void outside and beneath the Garden that all will soon be reduced to. All shall be returned to the peaceful, cold stillness of dead eternity.**"

'He's… right…' Teana thought weakly. 'I can't… do anything. I'm not… s-strong enough… Girls… Negi… Subaru… I'm sorry…'

"**You are alone, and will be for the rest of existence. Such is the fate of those that defy me. No-one can help you.**"

"Wrong."

(MUSIC: _Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai _OST – "Main Theme / Kai Version 2")

"**What?**"

Within the space of a few seconds, six figures appeared, surrounding Teana. Every one of them laid a hand upon her, and every one of them glared with determination and cold hatred at the Lifemaker.

"**How? Why? Why would you give up the endless peace of the Eternal Garden just for this girl?**"

"Because she's our second chance" Ahsoka said.

"Because she's the one who gave us freedom and purpose" Mai said.

"Because she's our leader" Marie said.

"Because she's our friend" Kaede said.

"Because she's ours, and we're hers" Shion finished. "No more reason needs to be said than that."

Teana slowly raised her head, looking around, finding her squad – her _friends _– supporting her. She felt as Marie and Shion helped her to her unsteady feet, as Mai and Ahsoka transferred power – _life _– into her. She closed her eyes, fighting back tears.

"Girls… Thank you…"

When she opened her eyes, they were fixed on the Lifemaker, giving him the same baleful gaze that the others were.

"We will not surrender so easily" she said with determination and conviction. "You underestimate our resolve."

"…**Be that as it may, there is no way for any of you to escape this realm. Soon I will have enough strength to head outward and cleanse the various other worlds of the multiverse of humanity. And then the Eternal Garden shall encompass all of creation.**"

With that, he vanished, seemingly folding in on himself. At once, everyone felt his oppressive presence lifted, and Teana's body no longer felt nearly as heavy and weak. What quickly followed was a group hug between the girls that lasted a good half a minute. When they broke apart, it was a matter of seconds before Ala Alba, the girls of 3-A, Rex & Cody, the Mahora Mage-Staff, Rakan, and Nagi & Arika appeared.

"Man, that was messed up" Nagi said.

"Sorry we kept you girls waiting" Negi said to Gamma Team.

"Is everyone okay?" Asuna asked. "Is everyone here?"

"We're all here, Kagurazaka" Evangeline replied.

"That was nuts, man" Anya piped in, not entirely consciously aware of the fact she was hanging/clinging onto Negi's arm. "…And why do I feel like I've been ignored?"

"I would never ignore you, Anya" Negi replied with a smile, innocent of the connotations of what he'd just said. In response, Anya realized what she was doing and what he had just said and her face went bright red. She let go of him, stammering and blushing, only to sigh "…Oh, what the Hell…" and latch onto his arm again, resting her head on his shoulder. _Now _he realized what he'd implied and what her reaction meant, and he blushed too. Nodoka giggled and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Chiue…" Chisame muttered to herself, holding a hand to her chest and with her head down. "Sis… I'm sorry…"

"…Now what?" Marie asked.

"I…" Teana muttered. "I don't know…"

(MUSIC: _Transformers (2007 Film) OST _– "Bumblebee" 0:00 to 0:45)

"I don't know… what to do… I don't know how to get us out of here…"

"I can't think of or sense any ways we can get out of this one" Ahsoka murmured.

"It's dark and cold, but…" Fumika said, clinging to her sister "I feel too sad to be scared…"

"We can't have come this far all for nothing…" Marie whispered. "…Could we have?"

"We… We can't be stuck here forever…" Negi said, his voice losing conviction. "We _can't_!"

"I don't know what to do…" Teana repeated weakly. "Maybe… What if there's nothing we _can_do?"

"_Come on, Seven. Don't tell me you're giving in that easily. That's not the Noble way._"

(MUSIC: 0:46 to 1:31)

Teana gasped at the familiar voice – one she hadn't heard in what felt like ages, one she _couldn't _be hearing, because she'd seen him _die_. And yet here he came, a slightly-glowing figure, tall, with deep-blue armor, holding his helmet under his right arm.

"_It's not your way to give up like this, Teana_" Carter's spirit said. "_You know that as well as I do._"

"_C'mon, Sev_" Emile's ghost said as he stepped forward. "_You been hit harder than this and you always got back up._"

"_Besides,_" Jess' spirit said as he walked up, "_you're not a Lone Wolf. You've got your own team, and their strengths are yours._"

"_You always had the strongest willpower of us,_" Kat said, her spectral form complete with an organic right arm, "_and the most determination to keep going._"

"_Where's the girl I helped Linda teach how to snipe?_" Jun's ghost asked. "_The girl who took every challenge head-on, didn't stop until she'd overcome them, and aced every single one?_"

"_You've got one of the strongest Hearts of anyone I've ever known_" Jorge's spirit said in a kind tone. "_There's no way you or your friends would let that old bastard defeat you like this._" He looked at Rakan and gave a grin. "_You just need a little spirit, after all._"

"_I know you won't let it end like this_" Thom's spirit said. "_Now get out there and do the Noble name proud._"

"_You've inherited my strength, my little daughter_" said the spirit of a tall, well-built man with black hair, grey eyes, and a firm yet kind look on his face – Tarlis Lanstar. "_You've done your family proud._"

"_We're so proud of you, my Little Star_" said a woman a little taller than Teana, with red-orange hair and grey-tinted blue eyes. Sayuri Uchiha-Lanstar. "_I know you have the strength to beat this._"

"_You've always had a wonderful, unconquerable spirit, Tia_" said Tiida, looking with love at his all-grown-up baby sister. "_That was one of the things I loved about you most, sis. You've come so far, made so much progress, gained so much strength, made so many friends, and touched so many lives… I couldn't be prouder of you._"

Teana was crying freely now, the sight and voices and words of her departed loved ones too much for her composure to withstand. She tried to speak, but couldn't.

Carter turned to the other girls of Gamma. "_You've all been a wonderful team for her. And wonderful friends as well._"

"As if we could ever be anything else for The Boss" Marie replied, a warm smile as she looked at Teana.

"_There's certainly no reason to give up hope_" said a new figure, a child-sized one clad in a cloak – the Gravekeeper who'd held off Dynamis & Sextum after Negi mastered his darkness. "_There is still a way to break free._"

"You…" Negi recognized the figure. "Did he send you to the Eternal Garden, too?"

The girl pulled free her hood, revealing hair as red as Negi's & Asuna's and in pigtails, with one gold eye and the other silver.

"_No. The Lifemaker killed me shortly after arriving on Mundus Magicus and freeing his disciples. A shame; I would've enjoyed being able to spend time to get to know you, my descendant._"

(MUSIC: 1:32 to 2:43)

"So what do we do?" Asuna asked.

"_The same thing you did to break free of the Elder Rainyday's spell. A little courage is truly strong magic. Of course, it doesn't hurt that you have access to the mana of the entire Earth thanks to the link between this Void and the World Tree._"

"_Just link your Hearts together,_" Tiida elaborated. "_Draw upon each other's strength, tap into the Earth's magical energy. Negi-kun, Asuna-san, Arika-sama, you three carry the Lifemaker's blood. You can tap into the forces he wields to punch a hole big enough for all of you to slip through and return to reality._"

"_The Lifemaker has caused enough suffering over the millennia_" said another ghost – a teenage girl that everyone recognized instantly. "_It's time for you guys to put an end to him._"

"C-Chao…" Kū Fei whimpered, reaching out toward the ghost of one of her closest friends.

"I… I'm sorry we couldn't…" Negi nearly choked up as he stared at his departed descendant "couldn't… save you…"

"_You couldn't have seen it coming_" she interrupted him. "_None of us saw it coming. And… the war in my timeline has finally ended, while I know that __**this **__timeline will soon be saved by all of you. I have no regrets. …Okay, maybe I would've liked to try kissing you, despite the whole blood-relations thing, just for the fun of it._"

The six girls of Gamma Team had gotten in formation, their eyes closed as they reached out to each other and to the background mana of the universe. At the same time, they could feel hands upon them – Jorge's and her family's for Teana, Satoshi's for Shion, her mother's for Kaede, her friend's for Marie, Sayuri's for Mai, and Anakin & Padme's for Ahsoka. The contact and warmth gave them strength and solace, driving them forward. Their own hands clasped onto each other's, forming a circle, reinforcing the bonds while also allowing better circulation of energy between them. Soon the six girls were bathed in light coming from within and beneath them. Everyone else followed suit, their souls reaching out to each other, reinforcing each other, and connecting with the girls' to form a network.

In the "real" world, the Lifemaker floated over the quiet and empty Mahora Academy, when suddenly he felt a spike of power. He looked over at the World Tree, and noticed a glow, faint but steadily brightening.

"**What in Creation's name is that…**" he muttered.

"_You're doing it!_" Anakin's spirit said. "_You're getting close. Just a little more!_"

"_We're all so proud of you_" Kaede F.'s mother said. 

"_We love you_" Sayuri Lanstar said. "_We always have, and we always will. Now go save the world!_"

"For everything that is, was, and ever will be…" Fate Averruncus stated. "This ends today!"

"Ready or not, you bastard…" Negi said. "Here we come!-!"

(MUSIC: 2:44 to END)

A massive white shaft of light erupts upward from the World Tree, parting the clouds and piercing the heavens, the cool darkness of the Japan night being dispelled by the holy brightness emitted. Power thrums and moves, planetary mana surging and converging. The pillar of light becomes "shorter", ending at a few thousand feet above the World Tree's top like a solid thing. Across a significant portion of the Academy, cracks form in the ground, forming a huge pattern or symbol, a circle with the World Tree at the epicenter.

"**Impossible…**"

In another burst of light, the circle and the patterns contained within light up with white light, forming a humongous and extraordinarily complex magical rune-circle. Script written in the oldest complete dialect of Forerunner language runs across and throughout the rune, and the World Tree is at the center of a massive eight-pointed star-like shape – the portion of the Forerunner magic circle that the ancient race had designed their Ark to imitate. From each point of the star, a shaft of light emerges, bending upwards to all meet at the summit of the central pillar. Where they converge, a point of near-blinding light forms and rapidly grows.

With a mighty sound – the sound the Forerunners had done their best to imitate with the opening of an Ark Portal – there was a blinding flash. When it faded, a significant number of figures floated in the air, the knowledge of magical flight having been implanted into the minds of those who hadn't possessed it yet. As the Last Precursor got close, every one of the figures glared at him with calm conviction.

"The only thing being sent to Oblivion today…" Teana shouted "is _YOU!-!_"

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Next time: the final battle… well, of Book 5, anyway.

For those curious or mistaken: the Five-Tails' true name is NOT a shout-out to _Star Trek_. …Ever read/watched _The Jungle Book_?

And no, the departed spirits that everyone interacted with were NOT constructs created by the Eternal Garden or by the girls' subconscious. They were the actual spirits/ghosts of those people.

… I'm sorry I forgot you, Anya ;(


	29. Gotterdammerung

Here we go – the penultimate chapter, and the Final Battle of Book 5. After this is an epilogue, followed by Book 6, which I promise won't take a year and a half to finish. It's only gonna be 2-3 chapters, after all.

Finally got _Kingdom Hearts 3D_; updates may be slowed until it and my simultaneous playthrough of the Mass Effect trilogy (as an Adept this time, to get achievements my previous Infiltrator playthroughs couldn't get) are completed. Those games (along with some _**serious**_ writer's block) are also the reason why this chapter took so long and why it's kinda short. …Man, it was at a point where I was typing up one paragraph PER DAY.

And if anyone's wondering how they're able to harm the Lifemaker, it's because the Earth itself is supercharging them.

SEE FIRST CHAPTER FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

"**This is impossible…**" the Lifemaker muttered."**No life-forms with less than a century of life and experience can even dream of possessing the willpower needed to break free!**"

"That's the thing about us humans" Nagi replied. "Willpower and determination are what we do."

"…**So be it. If you reject the Eternal Garden… then I'll just have to kill you all.**"

"You don't have the right to decide a species' fate" Teana snarled.

"**Of course I do! I am a Precursor! The race that oversaw countless lesser races, judging them as we saw fit for billions of years! We had absolute power over all!**"

"That doesn't make you gods or give you the right to do what you've done" Negi replied. "It just makes you a race of black-hearted, egotistical tyrants who violate the sacred right of existence present in all sapient life. If what we've found and learned is true, the Forerunners were right to strike back and wipe your people out."

"**They were insolent children who dared to act and believe as if they, not we, controlled their fate – dared to raise their hands against their masters, their **_**makers**_**, when we descended to sweep away all traces of the failure that was their existence! Just like you humans! **_**We were gods, all of us! And now, there is only one! And I am the most powerful Precursor Archmage to ever exist!-! I AM A GOD!-!**_** …Every Heart, every world shall be returned to the Darkness from whence they came. And I shall be the one to do it. The rejecters of silent oblivion shall die; by my hand, you shall be broken.**"

(FINAL BOSS MUSIC: _Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST _– "Enter the Void")

Obeying a telepathic command, most of the group descended to the ground, where a small horde of summoned shadow-demons emerged to meet them (with Rakan calling dibs on the big ones, of course). Negi, Nagi, Arika, Teana, Shion, Evangeline, and Fate remained to fight the Lifemaker, to put an end to the twisted legacy of the Precursors once and for all. Power thrummed as everyone prepared for the fight of their lives, the mana of the Earth itself empowering and boosting the heroes.

Then, in a blur of motion, Nagi launched the first strike, firing off a _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens _that raced through the sky toward the Last Precursor. The ancient dark being dove out of the way, racing toward the group like a wraith out of Hell. He was met by a solid wall of Force that Shion unleashed, battering him away. A _Katon: Gōenkyū _from Teana followed next, only for the Lifemaker to, with effort, redirect it upward, exploding with a bright flash high in the sky. A quick flash of green accompanied Shion entering her four-tailed form, herself still plainly visible and in control through the glowing-green chakra shroud, to the surprise of many of the group.

'She's gained control of it?' Teana thought, scanning with her _Sharingan_. 'The taint of bloodlust and corruption isn't there anymore…'

Shion punched her right arm forward, and a huge, burning-hot chakra claw surged toward the Lifemaker. The Last Precursor flew into motion, diving, climbing, twisting, and accelerating, the chakra claw hot on his heels in pursuit. He nearly ran into a slicing wave of wind-propelled fire from Arika, diving straight down to avoid it, narrowly avoiding a burst of summoned lava from Fate. Shion's chakra-claw ceased its pursuit and faded away, reappearing around her arm at normal size. A large ice crystal formed in the Lifemaker's path and then shattered into a barrage of sharp, jagged projectiles flying straight at him like a shotgun blast. He formed a shield in front of him and bulldozed through Evangeline's attack, and then returned fire with a huge barrage of Darkness-type _Sagitta Magica _directed at her. Nagi called forth a Light-element shield that blocked each & every one, protecting Eva.

A storm of Lightning-type _Sagitta Magica _heralded Negi, now in his _Raiten Sōsō _form, rushing in amongst them at the Lifemaker, his fist glowing with a supercharged _Raikahōken_. The Lifemaker charged to meet the boy, blocking or shrugging off what bolts hit him as an aura of darkness surrounded and infused his fist. The two met, punches clashing against each other with a massive shockwave that blew away the rest of the magical projectiles. And then just when the Lifemaker thought he was about to start winning the shoving match, Negi released a stored _Jaculatio Vorticis Tempestatis_, the huge spiral spear made by merging _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens _and _Jaculatio Fulgoris _forming directly behind Negi and then racing toward the Lifemaker. The ancient being broke off his attack, avoiding being skewered by centimeters, the residual Lightning energy of the attack lashing out at him as the technique passed and then shot off into the sky.

"_Mille Gladii Obsidianii_!"

A huge swarm of black swords summoned by Fate rushed out, flying straight at the Lifemaker. The hooded figure raised a large black rune-shield that deflected the projectiles… and distracted him from the magic-supercharged punch that Nagi hit him with, sending him hurtling across the sky. He recovered mid-flight and returned fire with a barrage of shadow spears. Nagi blocked some, while the others were deflected by a shield spell conjured by Evangeline, who then flared with power as her _Magia Erebea _activated, casting & absorbing a high-level ice spell to take a form she dubbed "_Krustalline Basileia_", her flesh turning pale and being dusted with ice by the water vapor in her immediate vicinity being flash-frozen, while six seraph-style wings of ice formed behind her. She formed a sequence of hand-seals…

"_Hyōton: Haryū Mōko!_"

…and unleashed a large tiger made of flowing ice that flew through the air at the Last Precursor. The Lifemaker responded with a solid wave of force that shattered the construct of ice into a thousand pieces… every one of which then flew at him in a deadly fusillade. He dove and twisted through the air, dodging the barrage of slicing ice daggers. He fired a huge explosive burst of Darkness energy at Teana… and as it neared her, it disappeared and collapsed in on itself into nothingness. Having disposed of the threat with _Kamui_, her _Mangekyō Sharingan _then turned its focus to the enemy, and the Lifemaker had to move very quickly to avoid being set ablaze by _Amaterasu_. He then had to move quickly again to avoid a rising sword swing from Asuna as she flew up from the ground at him, her anti-magic-permeated blade one of the few things capable of causing serious harm to him in a single direct blow (seeing that he was presently a being of, essentially, solid magic). She followed up with a _Katon: Gōkakyū _that he batted aside.

A _Flagrantia Rubicans _from Arika blindsided the Lifemaker, and after he recovered from it he let out a short-range pulse of dark power to knock out the flames on his robe, which quickly mended itself. Two blasts of raw chakra, tinted green, flew at him, and he conjured a rune-shield that (barely) withstood them. In response, Shion's fifth & final chakra tail sprouted, and her five tails then turned opaque and enveloped her completely. After about a second, there was a burst of chakra, and she emerged in her Version 2 state, a black (with swirling green bits), five-tailed figure with glowing green circles for eyes. She proceeded to launch a fireball hot & condensed enough to be white, and the Lifemaker was unpleasantly surprised by how much force it exploded with when it hit his shield, shattering the defense and damaging & stunning him. A _Rairyūdan _from Nagi came in next, the serpentine, dragon-headed mass of lightning energy coming at the Last Precursor from in front and below. The quick shield the Lifemaker threw out withstood most of it, but a fraction of it got through and harmed him a little more.

The Lifemaker let out a humongous barrage of shadow-spears, racing toward the entire group. Asuna responded by launching a wave of anti-magic from her sword, obliterating half of them, while a chakra-supercharged roar from Shion took out half of what was left. The remaining fourth of the original number was blocked by a shield conjured by Nagi & Arika. Next came a Forsaken Buster from Teana with Nagi's _Fulguratio Albicans _spiraling around it, surging toward the Last Precursor, who only partially got out of the way in time, taking a glancing hit from the combination attack. It stunned him enough that an explosive chakra blast from Shion managed a direct hit, the blast obscuring him from view. After a few seconds, he came surging out of the smoke and fire, robes tattered and aura flaring. Thrusting his hands forward, he fired two massive beams of raw magical energy at the group, who scattered to avoid them.

Evangeline raised her hand high, casting _Malleus Aquilonis_, and a huge sphere of ice formed high above the Lifemaker and then streaked down towards him like a meteorite. He fired a thin beam upward, moving it from one side to the other and slicing the massive projectile in two. The two halves then spread out, floating on either side of him. Evangeline moved her palms together quickly, and the two half-domes rushed inward toward each other with the Lifemaker in the middle. Just before they could hit, he unleashed a massive wave of power that blew them into millions of pieces, tiny balls of ice and snowflakes falling toward the ground. Ice gave way to fire, as Shion fired off a _Katon: Zokukku_, which was quickly boosted and supercharged by a _Fūton: Atsugai _from Teana. The fire/wind combination attack smashed against and through the multi-layer shield that the Last Precursor cast, finally stopping just after breaking through the last shield, pushing him back. And then Asuna came in from behind, swinging her sword, imbued with her anti-magic. It impacted, cutting him and sending him hurtling downward at an angle. As he regained control and pulled up, his form seemed to waver for a few seconds.

"Nice!" Nagi said. "I think he really felt that one, Asuna!"

"There goes half his remaining HP, I'd wager" Evangeline commented.

There was no calm boast from the Lifemaker this time; only a wordless shout as he unleashed a storm of energy blasts in every direction. Negi, Nagi, and Arika intercepted some with blasts of their own, Shion let out a chakra roar that deflected more, and Evangeline, Fate, and Teana simply tanked the shots courtesy of an ice wall, a stone wall, and Stage 2 _Susanō_, respectively. Shion flash-stepped forward, reappearing right in front of the Lifemaker and attacking with a claw swipe that sent him flying with impressive speed. Negi appeared in a flash of lightning in his flight path, and landed a perfectly-timed rising _Ōkahōken _that sent him skyward. The Last Precursor quickly regained control and began flying about while assailing the group with shadowy tendrils. Everyone dodged frantically to avoid being skewered, returning fire whenever they got the chance. Eventually, Asuna saw an opening and took it, flying in close to the Lifemaker and severing the tendrils with a swing of her sword. She then fired a close-range fireball at him, pushing him back.

Fate's attack came next, a spiraling column of sand aiming to engulf the Lifemaker. The ancient being dove to avoid it, and it gave chase. After several seconds he grew tired of this, and formed his impossibly-black blade, turning around and charging at the mass of sand. With a swing, he cleaved the attack in two, dispelling the summoned sand. And then Teana was there, Mirage Longswords blazing as she struck at him, his own blade blocking the attack with some effort. A high-altitude duel ensued, each combatant trying to break through or around the other's guard while blocking the other's strikes. After a little of this, Teana landed a glancing blow, superheated magical energy burning into the Lifemaker's side. The ancient being let out a psionic shockwave that sent Teana hurtling backward, and by the time the redhead regained control the Lifemaker had already moved away, now focusing on Evangeline.

Eva formed her _Ensis Exsequens _and rushed to meet him, with Arika and her fire-magic-channeling sword close behind. Arika swung her sword, firing a "sword-beam" of burning magical energy that raced ahead, slicing through the Lifemaker's shield only to be blocked by his "Entropic Blade". The Lifemaker's sword skills were again put to the test as he tried to fend off Evangeline and Arika at the same time. Eventually, a third party intervened, Teana's _Kamui_ striking the Lifemaker's blade and destabilizing it such that it came apart. The Last Precursor immediately flash-stepped away from the two sword-wielding blondes, reappearing to lash out with a blow that nearly shattered the quick shield Fate through up to block it… and get nailed by a _Titan-Slayer _from Negi, the lightning spear punching clean through the Lifemaker, causing no apparent physical damage but a noticeable reaction from him and a change in his energy signature. He hunched over, an unearthly growl issuing from everywhere and nowhere.

"I think he might not have too much left in him" Asuna said. "We just need to hit him a couple more times like that."

"I doubt it will be that easy" Teana replied as the Lifemaker's aura flared. He thrust his palms forward, firing two huge beams of raw energy. The beams were swept up and down, back and forth, leaving everyone maneuvering frantically to avoid being blasted by them. Though there were several close calls, they succeeded long enough for the Lifemaker to tire out enough to cut the attack off. Nagi immediately took the opportunity to fire a _huge _barrage of Light-type _Sagitta Magica_, which the Last Precursor was only able to block some of. He braced himself, withstanding the pain until the barrage had ceased, and then rushed at Teana, only to be intercepted by Shion. The _Jinchūriki_'s burning punch caught him in the side, raw superheated chakra assailing him. Sent flying by the blow, he quickly regained himself and responded with a storm of black, spiked tendrils at the two Gamma Team members. Teana called up her Stage-2 _Susanō_ and moved in front of Shion, the spectral summon protecting them both, deflecting the tendrils with its shield and its aura.

A swirling blast of fire and wind from Arika slammed into the Lifemaker from behind, putting a stop to his attack on the two teen girls. Fire gave way to ice in the form of a _Nivis Tempestas Obscurans _from Evangeline, dealing more and more damage to the ancient being. He roared and flew at Arika at top speed, only for Negi to land a _Raikahōken _and stop him in his tracks. As the two entered a quick melee, it was clear that the ancient being's anger and injuries were making him slower and sloppy. The quick match ended in Negi's favor, a right cross to the 'face' that sent the Lifemaker tumbling a fair distance. Fate intercepted his old boss with a roundhouse kick that bounced him upward, into an axe-blow strike from Nagi. The game of pinball finished with a straight punch from Teana's _Susanō_, a giant glowing red-orange fist hammering the Lifemaker with enough force to shatter every bone in a mundane human's body. After a few seconds, the Lifemaker finally regained control of his fight, and was now hunched over a little.

"I think he's on his last legs" Nagi said.

"Then let's knock those legs out from under him" Teana replied.

The Lifemaker had barely started charging another attack when he was struck from below by a Rakan Impact, as Jack – now finished dealing with the "big ones" – had come up to join the main battle. The titan of a man dodged one violet beam of energy and swatted the other aside as he flew up beside Nagi.

"So he's gettin' weaker as he gets tuckered out and beat around, huh?" Rakan said.

"That, and the supercharge we're getting from the Earth itself is letting us deal and take more damage than we normally could," Arika replied, "as well as continuously replenishing our stamina. A few more solid hits ought to do it."

"Why not do all those solid hits at once?" Nagi suggested.

"As if he'd hold still long enough for that" Evangeline replied.

"Leave that to me" Negi said. "Though if anyone is willing to help…"

Over the next several seconds, the group telepathically planned their course of action, Shion doing so while fending off the Last Precursor's attacks. Following her part of the plan, Shion lashed out with two of her burning chakra tails, one from the left and the other from the right in a pincer strike. The Lifemaker shot upward to avoid it… and right into the epicenter of Evangeline's _Haionie Krustalle_, encasing him in a large mass of absolute-zero ice. Binding fields from Arika, Negi, and Klaus down below all wrapped around the ice.

"Now, everyone!" Negi shouted.

They all began charging their strongest techniques – a huge spear of lightning formed in Negi's hands, golden rune-circles of lightning glowed around the frozen Lifemaker with Nagi's power, Arika and Evangeline quickly began incanting their ultimate spells, Rakan began charging everything he had into his pulled-back right fist, Teana brought Cross Mirage forward as red-orange magical energy converged into a large sphere, and Shion's chakra tails curved forward as motes of black and white chakra rapidly converged into a sphere in front of her head. The ice began to fracture from within, power wavering within as the Lifemaker fought his way free. And then everyone attacked:

Nagi: "_Khilipl Astrape_!-!"

Arika: "_Ourania Phlogosis_!-!"

Negi: "_Dios-Logche: Titano-Ktonon_!-!"

Rakan: "Absolute Maximum Power Rakan Impact!-!"

Evangeline: "_Aperantus Leukos Ouranos_!-!"

Shion: "_Bijūdama_!-!"

Teana: "Stars' Death Cannon!-!"

The Lifemaker finally shattered his absolute-zero prison from within… just in time to get hit by all seven full-power total-annihilation attacks at once. He threw out an emergency shield sphere around himself, the attacks struggling to punch through. Everyone poured more power into it, while Shion and Asuna also unleashed their Void and Anti-Magic power as much as they could. With a shattering sound, everything broke through at once and struck the Lifemaker directly. There was a brilliant flash and a tremendous explosion, the shockwave shattering windows thousands of feet below. There was an unearthly, horrible, psionic sound that was one part impossible-toned scream to five parts unidentifiable. When the bright flash faded, the Lifemaker's form was contorting and wavering, coming apart before their eyes. With a final heave of space-time, the eons-old being came apart completely, atoms and then even quarks being torn asunder, the mana that partially made up his body being returned to the fabric of creation whence it came.

The Last Precursor was dead.

From where the Lifemaker had been, a pulse of light and power radiated outward at hypersonic speeds, racing across the entire planet. The summoned demons below the aerial battlefield vanished into the ether when the wave struck them, leaving the combatants below victorious. People began to awaken everywhere, their souls returned to their bodies (though people whose bodies had perished due to complications regarding the sudden global removal of souls from bodies – plane crashes, in-progress medical procedures, and such – did not return; the release of the Eternal Garden could not revive the truly dead). And everyone who awoke did so with the knowledge implanted into their heads of what had transpired – magic, an ancient semi-immortal evil being, and the individuals who had just saved the entire planet.

The eight floated down to the others below, the Earth's boost leaving their bodies, leaving them tired but alive and unhurt. They were immediately mobbed by the rest of Ala Alba, 3-A, and Gamma 4 through 6. Negi received victory kisses from 16 different girls in the space of 50 seconds, while Nagi & Arika held each other close, overjoyed that the long nightmare was finally over.

The world was saved.

**-**_**CHAPTER END**_**-**

Next up is the final chapter of Book 5. And then we can finally, _finally, _FINALLY get to Book 6.


	30. Departure

FINALLY! It is the last chapter of Book 5! Now I can finally get the series moving forward again! I already have a semi-detailed outline for Books 6 through 21, and am anxious to get them put to (virtual) paper.

MOST DISCLAIMERS AVAILABLE AT FIRST CHAPTER

**-**_**CHAPTER START**_**-**

The celebrations went on for at least a week. Mercifully, the academy's security was keeping outsiders from swamping the campus, and the Headmaster and his assistants were still working on a schedule for the news crews and interviewers. However, the thousands of people already a part of the academy – students and staff – still were enough to keep the staff busy. Fortunately, though, the mage staff was going out of their way to give Class 3-A and their associates time to celebrate, unwind, and bond without outsiders' interference. Most of it was either spent in a special building set aside for them, or inside the _Starshot_ or the temporary camp that had been set up on the flat rocky ground beneath it for just the occasion.

The memorial service for Chao Lingshen was held on the day after the Last Precursor's destruction.

The repercussions of the incident had been global and tremendous, especially thanks to the knowledge dump that everyone had received upon being returned to their bodies. The major religions of the world got a serious shakeup at the existence of magic, and more so at knowledge of the Lifemaker and his actions – a being who could best be described as an evil god simultaneously ripping the souls out of every living body on the entire planet out of a desire to wipe the slate clean. Some were simply calling him a "sufficiently advanced alien" with a god complex. The fields of science got a huge shakeup as well, though slightly less with the knowledge that magic relied upon a near-omnipresent energy, similar to things discussed in particle physics and the like, that was in fact detectable with the right technology; it was just that no mundanes had ever created such tech and known what to look for. This was set to be rectified, of course, with the basic outlines and blueprints of early mana-detection machines already being drawn up.

All told, thousands of people were dead as a result of complications caused by the simultaneous global mass de-souling, with millions more injured. Automobile crashes, in-progress medical procedures, other precarious things. By some stroke of raw luck, almost none of the fatalities were aircraft-related; most planes airborne at the time had either been mid-flight and on autopilot or in the process of taking off or landing, with the resulting "bumpy landings" causing less than a dozen fatalities worldwide (though plenty of mostly-inconsequential injuries).

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

Shion looked over a datapad she held in one hand, as her other arm was kept wrapped around Mai's waist, the auburn-haired regenerator laying her head on Shion's shoulder. Nearby, Marie was sitting in Teana's lap while Kaede laid her head in Marie's lap, and Ahsoka was being held seated in a content-looking Haruna's lap, the busty artist slowly and lazily tracing a finger around on the smaller girl's exposed stomach. Lastly, Negi was being held up against Nodoka, who was in turn laying her head on Haruna's shoulder while Yue rested her head in Negi's lap. Shion's datapad beeped.

"…We just got word from Colonel Holland" she said. "The distortions in space-time between dimensions are clearing up. We can leave anytime. And from the looks of things, we'll have to leave soon."

"How come?" Teana asked as she rested her chin on Marie's shoulder.

"The other threat out there – the one that Satoshi-kun told me to warn you about – might be preparing to make its move. There are a few worlds that it might target first. And… there's something else. These worlds we need to head to, to even things out and whatnot? They're… They're our homeworlds. Marie & Mai's Earth, Kaede's Earth, and… my Earth."

This elicited various unspoken reactions from the three other girls in question, who had to rely on the physical contact with their partners to remain calm.

"I might have to see… my family?" Marie whispered, eyes wide. Kaede reached up and gently stroked her cheek.

"I'm scared to face my past, too" Kaede said. "But… you and I can be there for each other during it. We'll keep each other strong, no matter what happens."

"And I might have to see my sister again…" Shion muttered. "But… I might also get the chance to find Satoshi-kun…"

"And I'll have to…" Ahsoka visibly deflated "leave Negi…"

"It won't be for long" Haruna said as she hugged Ahsoka close from behind. "I'm sure of it. We'll see each other again soon."

"We don't have to leave for about four days" Shion said. "We can still hang out here until then."

"Good" Mai said. "That might give us a little time to prepare ourselves…"

"Can I… go find Negi?" Ahsoka asked Haruna. "I wanna spend some time with him… and Nodoka and Yue…"

"We'll go together" Haruna replied as she let Ahsoka get to her feet, and then grasped the alien's hand and led her out, searching for the boy who'd saved the world.

"Hmm…" Shion went into her thoughts. "Hey, Marie. Are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"I think so, Brain" Marie said in an odd accent. "But where are we gonna get a barbershop quartet at this hour?"

"…What?"

Kaede started giggling, and soon Marie did too.

"…Earth pop-culture reference, I'm assuming?" Teana asked.

"…Okay, once we've got some time on the ship," Marie said, "I've gotta show you girls this one show I like."

**-**_**SCENE BREAK**_**-**

**Four Days Later**

As the Pelican touched down, the six girls of Gamma Team said their heartfelt goodbyes to Negi and company. Ahsoka's goodbye consisted of a deep, passionate kiss for Negi that lasted nearly a half a minute, followed by an intense group hug with the Library Trio, while the others' were… less intimate in nature. After the long, tearful goodbyes and well-wishes were finally finished, the six boarded the dropship, which lifted off and flew up into the _Starshot_. Around a minute later, the 1600-meter ship began to ascend, flying up through the clouds and out of the Earth's atmosphere. In a flash of blue and white, the destroyer vanished, heading for Mai & Marie's home dimension.

**-**_**BOOK 5 END**_**-**

FINALLY!-!-! After around a year and a half of work, busy schedules, and writer's blocks, IZ DONE!-!

Before I start on Book 6, I'm gonna reread Books 0 through 5 (don't worry; it'll take me, like three-to-five days at most probably). And then I have to (shudder) read _Mai-chan's Daily Life _again to get a refresher for the characters. Odds are the first chapter will be out late August or early September.

Be sure to look for "Teana's Travels Book 6 – Freedom and Reconciliation" in the Lyrical Nanoha / Misc. Anime Crossovers section… or through my author page; that works, too.


End file.
